Zheng Qinwen confesses what went wrong in demolition loss to Elena Rybakina

• Tennis News
• WTA Tennis

Home favorite Qinwen Zheng said she "did not play very well" against Elena Rybakina and also admitted that the Kazakh's powerful service was causing her major problems. Zheng, ranked at No 23 in the world, didn't make it far in front of her home fans at the China Open in Beijing after Rybakina handed her a 6-1 6-2 loss.

Although Rybakina was the favorite, no one really expected the Kazakh to beat to easily the top-ranked Chinese player. "Indeed, I wasn't playing very well. 30% of my tennis. The rhythm of the ball I wasn't really grasping. It's completely different from previous matches.

I'm playing in the evening. In previous events, I was playing during the day. It was only about me. It has nothing to do with the coach because I wasn't able to adjust to the rhythm. The opponent's serve was really powerful. That actually made me not able to adjust to the rhythm.

The return of that powerful serve was really, really difficult for me. I wasn't able to play as well against such powerful serves. I think I will take a break of two to three days, and back into practice. I think in the Asian Games, five days in a row, I was consuming a lot of energy," Zheng said after the loss.

Zheng hopes to bounce back in Zhengzhou

Next week, world No 23 Zheng will be competing at a WTA 250 tournament in Zhengzhou. After an early Beijing exit, Zheng will take some time to recover and then start preparing for her Zhengzhou campaign.

"Of course, we'll be in Zhengzhou. I will take a break of two days, trying to recuperate, then going back to practice. I have higher expectations in Zhengzhou because I did not have enough time to prepare for the China Open. It was really hard to do my best.

My opponent's serves were really powerful, forcing me not really being able to get back into the rhythm. I hope I can do better in Zhengzhou," Zheng said.