Zheng Qinwen ascends to career-high world No 4 ranking

BEIJING - Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen has climbed to a career-high world No 4 in the latest WTA rankings.

The 22-year-old's rise was fueled by a strong showing at the Queen's Club Championships last week, a key grass-court warm-up event ahead of Wimbledon.

Zheng, the reigning Olympic champion, reached the semifinals on grass for the first time in her career, highlighted by a 6-2, 6-4 win over home favorite Emma Raducanu.

The achievement builds on her momentum from earlier this month at the French Open, where Zheng reached the quarterfinals for the first time with a 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-3 victory over Russia's Liudmila Samsonova.