AO19 Ones to Watch: Qiang Wang
Asian players have starred at the Australian Open in recent years. Li Na’s historic runner-up finish in 2011 and win in 2014; Kei Nishikori’s three quarterfinal runs; Hyeon Chung’s charge to the semis and Hsieh Su-Wei’s web-spinning guile en route to the quarters last January.
Wang Qiang looks ready to take up the mantle with a deep run at AO2019.
Although China’s new No.1 has posted just a single win from four trips to Melbourne Park (notably over Sloane Stephens), Wang was arguably the hottest player on the WTA tour in the latter part of 2018. The Tianjin native, who turns 27 on the first day of AO2019, made four finals in five months, winning at Nanchang and Guangzhou and finishing runner-up in Hong Kong and the year-end WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai.
During that post-Wimbledon burst, she also made semis at Hiroshima, Wuhan and Beijing, finishing the season with a 41-23 record and a career-peak ranking of No.20.
“Just tell me; I don’t know!” Wang replied to an interviewer on the reasons for her rise. “I think everything together, but more mental and believing in myself.”
Wang’s dazzling smile is something the tennis world could happily get used to. “Starting from last year, I knew I was capable of reaching where I am today,” she related in Zhuhai, where she finished runner-up to Ash Barty after toppling the higher-ranked Madison Keys and Garbiñe Muguruza.
“Unfortunately during the first half of the year, there was pressure. For all kinds of reasons, I didn’t reach my goal back then. But I did pretty well during the second half. I’ve gained quite good progress. For my current ranking, it’s what I have done step by step and it’s all reaching a new high because of what I have done in the past.”
Remarkably, Wang dropped to No.91 as late as May, failing to even qualify in Rome. From that nadir she posted career-best results in Grand Slams, reaching the third round at the French and US Opens. Only seven of her 23 losses across the season were to lower-ranked players. Conversely, no less than 18 of her 41 match wins were over higher-ranked opponents.
Wang’s first-round upset of Venus Williams at Roland Garros, as the No.85, was her first top-10 win since her initial breakthrough, against Caroline Wozniacki back in 2010. There followed wins over Karolina Pliskova in Wuhan and Beijing, and Elina Svitolina in Hong Kong, for four victories in total against the elite. Wang also had notable wins over Kiki Bertens, Jelena Ostapenko (6-0 6-0), Aryna Sabalenka and back-to-back defeats of former No.1 Muguruza, the latter a 6-2 6-0 rout at Zhuhai.
Her crafted victories over the surging Sabalenka and Muguruza were great displays in neutralising bigger-hitting opponents. Wang is a beautifully balanced mover - “I think my strength is in my legs; I have very long legs” - with a penetrating forehand that can produce winners from deep defence or scything angles. Stunning winners also flow from her versatile backhand.
No surprise that as recently as 2017 she declared: “[Agnieszka] Radwanska is my idol.” Wang’s serve though is a much bigger weapon than the delivery of the recently retired Polish stylist.
Unusually for a Chinese player, Wang lived and trained in Japan for a few years from age 16, supported by a Japanese sponsor and her family. “Not easy but my family always go with me,” she says of the demanding tennis lifestyle. “They support me. I just do what I want to do, and they support me: ‘Go for it.’”
For all her travels, Wang is disproportionately successful at home. An early role model was Zheng Jie, former Chinese No.1 and groundbreaking semifinalist at Wimbledon 2008 (and Australian Open 2010, along with Li Na). All four of Wang’s WTA finals have come in China, and during her years on the ITF circuit she amassed 13 titles from 17 finals - all of them in Asia. “I love Chinese food,” she jokes.
As the Grand Slam of Asia-Pacific, the Australian Open is a friendly environment for Wang to extend her success beyond home turf. Also in her corner is coach Peter McNamara, a Melburnian and former top-10 player who has guided Grigor Dimitrov among others.
Beyond her diving holiday in Malaysia, Wang looked ahead to 2019 only as far as the Shenzhen event which begins December 30, targeting the final at the one Chinese tour-stop she did poorly in this season (exiting first round against Keys).
But her new stature has opened up a widening horizon. “Grand Slams are my goal and getting to semifinals is something great,” Wang considers. “I haven’t reached there yet. That’s my goal and I definitely will work my way up there.”
Added the one-time introvert, whose English is improving in bounds along with her game and confidence: “I think the goal has to be a big one.”