China's tennis ace Zheng Qinwen on Friday expressed her confidence in delivering the best performance at the WTA Finals debut against World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, saying that she has the strength to beat anyone.
Zheng, 23, will make her tournament debut in Riyadh of Saudi Arabia and face off her long time rival Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in Purple Group of WTA Finals not earlier than 23:00 Saturday Beijing Time.
The World No.7 said that she feels great and looks forward to the forthcoming matches against the world's top women tennis players.
"At the moment I feel like I'm in a relaxed frame of mind going into this finals. And for myself, I hope I can play my own tennis game, because I always believe that as long as I play my own game, I have the strength to beat anyone. But in finals, you will have to face up to very strong opponents at the very beginning, which means that you don't get so much buffer time like in tours. You have to stay in a high state of play, then you fight from the first score to the last. Because the players here all master at key points, sometimes the chances just slip away if you are not careful. I think I've got to be super focused to stand out from the finals," Zheng said.
Zheng acknowledged Sabalenka as a formidable opponent but remained confident in her own abilities.
"I know Sabalenka is definitely a very tough opponent, but I think I have what it takes to beat her. The question is only when I can really beat her on the tennis court. Like I said earlier, it's crucial to get hold of the key points when playing against her," Zheng said.
Earlier on Oct 27, Zheng defeated Sofia Kenin of the United States 7-6 (5), 6-3 to clinch the title at the WTA 500 Pan Pacific Open. She has been adapting to the altitude changes as she transits to Riyadh, the Saudi capital with an altitude about 600 meters higher than Tokyo.
She also took a moment to thank her fans.
"Thanks to the fans who follow me, I will play the next match in Riyadh, and you'll see me on TV, or see me on court if you want to watch my match on-site. I will give my best effort to deliver the best performance in Riyadh," she said.
From Nov 2 to Nov 9, Zheng will join Barbora Krejcikova, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini and Jessica Pegula at the star-studded season-ending tournament of WTA Finals.
The top-two finishers of each group will advance to the semifinals on November 8 and the two winners will compete for the title on November 9.
Zheng is the first Chinese singles player to qualify for the WTA Finals since Li Na in 2013, when the latter finished runner-up after narrowly losing to Serena Williams.
Zheng Qinwen poised for WTA Finals in Riyadh
The 12th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), scheduled for Nov. 4 to 8 in Beijing, will deliberate a draft law on the preschool eduction, a spokesman said on Friday.
The session will also deliberate draft revisions to the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics, and the Anti-Money Laundering Law, among others, said Huang Haihua, spokesman for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, at a press conference in Beijing.
The latest version of the draft preschool education law submitted for a third review during the session of the country's top legislature, said Huang, is aimed to enhance preschool children's rights and ensure their safety.
He noted that the revised provisions of the draft law require special care for preschoolers with unique needs, such as those with specific health conditions.
To further safeguard children's rights, the draft mandates that kindergartens and other educational institutions handle children's personal information responsibly, ensuring their privacy and reputation are protected, according to the spokesman.
Huang also said that the draft outlines regulations to ensure food safety in kindergartens and enhance security in surrounding areas.
The draft revision to the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics underlines overall protection of cultural relics and lively preservation of cultural relics along with evolvements of the times.
The draft revision to the Anti-Money Laundering Law to be deliberated reflects China's consideration to step up the protection of personal privacy in anti-money laundering work, the spokesman said.
The draft revision highlights that anti-money laundering work should ensure the smooth operation of regular financial services and capital flow, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant institutions and individuals, according to Huang.
"First, while retaining the current Anti-Money Laundering Law's stipulations on strictly regulating the use of anti-money laundering information, the draft revision has added provisions on the protection of personal privacy. Second, it makes it clear that institutions providing anti-money laundering services and their staff should properly handle the data and information obtained during their services in accordance with the law, and ensure data and information security. Third, the draft revision has made additional provisions that financial institutions should comply with relevant legal stipulations on information protection when sharing anti-money laundering information within the company or among group members. Fourth, it has added a provision on legal accountabilities of employees of state institutions who leak anti-money laundering information," said the spokesman.
Legislators to deliberate draft law on preschool eduction
