Zheng makes tennis history for Asia

Following in the footsteps of Li, she is set to become another commercially successful female player from China, with her convincing athletic records and charismatic personality drawing an increasing number of domestic and international brands as her sponsors.

On the Forbes' 2023 list of highest-paid female athletes worldwide, Zheng ranked 15th with $1.7 million in prize money and $5.5 million in endorsement income, making her the first Chinese tennis player featured on the list since Li.

Before the Paris Games, Zheng also secured endorsements from brands such as Rolex, Nike and Alipay, with sports marketing experts predicting an exponential rise in her market value following her Olympic success.

Zhang Zizhu, a Beijing-based marketing and branding agent, told the 21st Century Business Herald: "Tennis, as a professional sport, traditionally produces some of the world's highest-paid stars, thanks to the complete sponsoring and marketing systems promoted by sports agencies. Zheng's rise has tapped into that huge potential of the sport in the Chinese market".