Zheng played just 32 matches in 2025 due to an ongoing elbow injury. Luke Walker / Getty Images

Zheng Qinwen will miss the Australian Open as she continues her recovery from a right elbow injury.

“Making this decision has been incredibly difficult for me,” the 2024 finalist said Thursday on social media.

“Melbourne is my ‘lucky place,’ where I won my first Grand Slam main draw match and had my best experience … Although my recovery is progressing well and my offseason has gone smoothly, to play a Grand Slam requires players to maintain an extreme competitive condition. Currently, I have not yet reached my best condition that I have set for myself.”

Zheng played just 32 matches in 2025 due to the injury to her playing arm. She had arthroscopic surgery last July, after a first-round loss at Wimbledon, and did not play again until September at the China Open in Beijing.

After retiring from her second match of the tournament, against Czechia’s Linda Nosková, she said in a news conference that she decided “to play this match to assess how much recovery is needed in my elbow.” It was her last match of the year.

The 23-year-old’s run to the 2024 final in Melbourne, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka, was the start of the year that propelled her to tennis stardom. She won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics at Roland Garros, beating overwhelming favorite Iga Świątek in the semifinals, and reached four more finals, including at the season-ending WTA Tour Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Australian Open singles main draws begin Jan. 18, where Sabalenka is defending women’s champion and Jannik Sinner holds the men’s title.

James Hansen is a Senior Editor for The Athletic covering tennis. Prior to joining The Athletic in 2024, he spent just under five years as an editor at Vox Media in London. He attended Cambridge University, where he played college tennis (no relation to the American circuit), and is now a team captain at Ealing Tennis Club in west London. Follow James on Twitter @jameskhansen