Iga Swiatek eliminated from US Open by Qinwen Zheng in round of 16

Iga Swiatek was eliminated from the U.S. Open in the round of 16 on September 7, 2026, after losing to Qinwen Zheng with a score of 7-5, 6-3. Swiatek started strong, winning the first five games, but was unable to maintain her lead. Zheng, who entered the tournament through qualifiers, advanced to the quarterfinals. Swiatek discussed her performance, stating, "I wouldn’t say it had anything to do with mentality. It was more that I started making mistakes from easy balls and Qinwen stopped doing mistakes. She played the balls better." Zheng's victory marks her second consecutive match in which she came back from a 5-0 deficit, having previously achieved this against Madison Keys. After taking a medical timeout for a tired quad, Swiatek had a brief resurgence but ultimately lost her momentum. Zheng expressed her joy at the victory, reflecting on her past successes and recent struggles due to injuries, stating, "I know people had a lot of doubt about me and it’s just really hard for me. I just need to be positive every single day, telling myself just keep working and let’s see when the results [are] gonna happen."