Qinwen Zheng has been handed a setback ahead of the French Open this year.
Zheng is the current Olympic champion and has been ranked as high as world number four.
However, the 23-year-old has been struggling with an elbow issue since then, with Zheng undergoing surgery on it after Wimbledon last year.
Zheng has only played five tournaments so far in 2026, and after losing to Jelena Ostapenko in Rome she has now been confirmed to fall to her lowest ranking since 2022.
Qinwen Zheng set to fall outside the top 50 for the first time since 2022
Zheng was the world number 32 ahead of the Italian Open, but was just outside the seeded ranking spots at the time of the cut-off.
The former Australian Open finalist won her first two matches against Anna Bondar and Cristina Bucsa, but Zheng came unstuck against Ostapenko.
Zheng had won all three of her previous matches against Ostapenko, and looked on track to continue her unbeaten run against the 2017 French Open champion after winning the first set.
Ostapenko fought back to beat Zheng 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to obtain her first victory over the Olympic champion.
Zheng reached the Italian Open semifinals last year, and as a result will now drop 325 points from her ranking.
This means that Zheng will drop outside the top 50 for the first time since August 2022, as she now sits at world number 53 in the live rankings.
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Qinwen Zheng could fall outside the top 100 after the French Open
Zheng being unable to defend her ranking points from reaching the semifinals in Rome last year has confirmed that she will not be seeded at the French Open this year.
This means that Zheng, who won the Olympic title on the clay courts of Roland Garros, could play anyone from Aryna Sabalenka in the first round of the tournament.
Zheng is now under real pressure to perform at the French Open this year, as she achieved her best result at the Paris major last year by reaching the quarterfinals.
If Zheng suffers an early exit at the French Open this year then she is at risk of dropping outside the top 100.
This could cause issues for Zheng for the rest of the Grand Slam season, as it could prevent her from directly entering the US Open.
