Zheng Qinwen (L) of China shakes hands with Iga Swiatek of Poland after their match in the women's singles quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, March 13, 2025. /VCG

China's Zheng Qinwen bowed out of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-3, 6-3 loss in the women's quarterfinals to World No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland in Indian Wells, California, on Thursday.

World No. 9 Zheng struggled with unforced errors at key moments and converted just two of five break points, as Swiatek prevailed in an hour and 35 minutes in a match that was interrupted by bad weather.

The result marked a reversal of the pair's meeting in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, when Zheng beat the four-time French Open champion 6-2, 7-5 on her way to winning the gold medal.

Swiatek, who is vying for a third title in Indian Wells, converted all five of her break point chances and won 74 percent of points on her first serve.

The 23-year-old raced to a 5-1 lead in the opening set, but Zheng rallied by breaking back and then holding serve.

Swiatek clinched the set in her next service game and then took a 4-0 lead in the second set before surviving another revival by her 22-year-old opponent to secure a place in the last four of the Women's Association of Tennis (WTA) 1000 event.

"At the end it got really windy which made it super tricky, especially when the conditions change during the match, you need to adjust quickly and it's not that easy," Swiatek said afterwards in an on-court interview. "I am happy that I was pushing until the end. It was a weird match with all the breaks and everything, but I wanted to be composed and really focused, and I'm glad that I did that."

Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek will face Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the semifinals.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency