Zheng Qinwen took the unusual step of singing a bit of karaoke in front of thousands after beating Mirra Andreeva to win the China Open title.

The 24-year-old saved three set points against the French Open champion before coming back to win 7-5, 6-4 in a one-hour-43-minute victory on Sunday.

Wildcard Zheng became the first Chinese woman to win this WTA 1000 event in Beijing, and it was also her first title at this level. After her triumph, which puts her 23rd in the rankings after being outside the top 100 earlier this year, the former Australian Open finalist gave a classy speech.

She said on court, “First of all, I want to say congratulations for the Roland Garros you [Andreeva] won; that was an amazing achievement. I never had the chance to say congratulations to you. And secondly, congratulations for this week in reaching the finals.

“You are such a young player, very talented, and congrats to your team. I want to say congrats to my team. I want to thank you for supporting me because I have been through a very tough year.”

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Shortly after both players did their on-court speeches, Zheng was handed the microphone, where she then began singing to the packed crowd.

Following her three-set win over Marie Bouzkova in the third round, Zheng did a superhero-like pose for the fans.

According to the WTA’s website, it turned out she was referencing Shen Bing Xiaojiang (Shenbing Kids), an animated Chinese series that debuted in 2006.

Zheng watched the show growing up and fondly remembers the theme song, Meng De Guang Dian.

She said at the time, “I told my team it’s a very childish cartoon. That was a transformation gesture in the cartoon. My team members were making fun of me. After winning that point, I need to do something to my team … I think people in my age might [have grown] up with that cartoon.”

So, following her first WTA 1000 triumph, Zheng was asked to sing the aforementioned theme song again, something she did with great glee in front of Andreeva and the spectators.

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