Qinwen Zheng will be left without her coach during the Australi (Image: Getty)
Qinwen Zheng has already been handed a major blow ahead of January’s Australian Open.
The world No. 5 finished as the runner-up in Melbourne Park at the start of the year and will have plenty of ranking points to defend.
But she will be forced to compete without her coach Pere Riba, who has been sidelined until March and can’t travel with Zheng.
Zheng and Riba reunited ahead of the 2024 season after the Chinese star’s partnership with Wim Fissette came to an end and Riba left ’s camp.
They immediately enjoyed success as the 22-year-old reached her first Grand Slam final in Australia and broke the top 10. Her stellar season was highlighted by an Olympic gold medal win.
She also won titles in Palermo and Tokyo, and finished runner-up on her debut at the WTA Finals. Zheng looked primed to keep building on her form in 2025 but she has now suffered a blow ahead of the new season.
Riba won’t be able to travel to Australia for the first Grand Slam of the season and is only expected to be back in Zheng’s corner for Indian Wells in March as he must undergo hip surgery.
Qinwen Zheng reached the Australian Open final while working with Pere Riba (Image: Getty)
Just in
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our
But the Olympic champion won’t be left completely alone. According to , she has already found a temporary coach to accompany her Down Under – Dante Bottini.
The Argentine has previously worked with the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori and Nicolas Jarry, and he will join Zheng in Australia.
It’s not the first time Zheng has found herself in a tough coaching situation. In the summer of 2023, she ended her partnership with Riba to start working with Fissette – a renowned WTA Tour coach who mentored the likes of Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka.
Fissette had previously coached but the Japanese star was on maternity leave. However, he suddenly left Zheng’s team after the US Open that year to go back to Osaka, who was preparing to mount a comeback.
The world No. 7 publicly called out Fissette and admitted she cried when he ended their partnership. “He broke the contract. This is very immoral,” she said at the time.
“I understand his decision, but my family and I feel hurt. Right now, I don’t want to talk about this person.”
But everything fell into place for Zheng by the end of 2023. Riba, who joined Gauff’s team over the summer, had to leave her camp in the off-season for personal matters. When the issue was resolved, he linked up with the Chinese star again.
Riba has now been nominated for coach of the year in the WTA Player Awards for his work with Zheng in 2024. And he will no doubt be cheering for her from afar in January.