Chinas Zheng Qinwen suffered a disappointing early exit from Wimbledon once again, falling to a surprise first-round defeat against Czech world number 81 Katerina Siniakova on Tuesday.
The sixth seed was beaten 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 on Court Three, marking a third consecutive first-round elimination at the All England Club. The match, played in sweltering conditions, lasted two hours and 25 minutes.
Despite being ranked sixth in the world and winning Olympic gold on the Paris clay last summer-where she defeated Croatias Donna Vekic in the final-Zheng has yet to make a meaningful impact on the Wimbledon grass.
Tuesday's loss extends a patchy run of Grand Slam form for the 22-year-old, who has now failed to reach the fourth round in four of her last six majors. Her only recent successes came with quarter-final appearances at the 2024 US Open and this year's French Open.
Zheng, who finished runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open in 2024, has found Wimbledon to be a particularly tough hunting ground. Despite her growing reputation and achievements elsewhere, she has never progressed beyond the third round in four attempts at SW19.