With her most-coveted Paris souvenir hanging around her neck, Zheng, who started playing tennis at 6 years old, influenced by her father, ranks the Olympic gold at the top of her career accolades, which include three singles titles on the professional WTA Tour, a runner-up finish at the 2024 Australian Open and a singles win at last year's Asian Games.

Even with no ranking points on offer, nor prize money awarded, the Olympic gold will always hold a special place in her heart, and will inspire her to attain further success on the pro circuit, Zheng said.

"My father always treats the Olympic Games more importantly than any of the Slams, myself as well. You can see it in my eyes; the hunger I had this week was different than in all the other tournaments I play," said Zheng, who, at No 7 in the world, is currently China's highest-ranked female player.

"Winning this Olympic gold medal makes me feel more relaxed, because finally I can tell my father 'I am an Olympic champion now'. It feels like a big stone has been lifted from my heart. Now I can enjoy tennis more, be more relaxed and have more fun on court."

Tougher than expected

Entering the Olympic tournament as the No 6 seed, Zheng has completed a physically demanding week of six matches, five of which were competed back-to-back.

She had to come back from behind in two consecutive three-hour matches to beat 15th-ranked Emma Navarro of the United States in the round of 16 and former world No 1 Angelique Kerber of Germany in the quarterfinals, before challenging reigning world No 1, Poland's Iga Swiatek, a four-time major winner at Roland Garros, in the semifinals.

Exhausted and under pressure, Zheng drew extra strength from her national pride to upset the competition favorite Swiatek in straight sets, claiming her first win in their seventh encounter and snapping the Polish star's 25-match winning streak on the "terre battue" of Paris.

"I had a lot of tough fights. In a lot of matches, I almost lost. But, there's a spirit holding me up. I don't know why, because in a usual match (on the tour), maybe I'd let it get away. At the Olympics, I just held it and kept fighting," said Zheng, who was eliminated in the third round of this year's French Open at the same venue in June.

"I'd been through five matches already, and my body hurt everywhere, but I still felt I had a lot of strength in me. If I needed to stay three more hours to fight through (Vekic), I felt I could do it for my country. I think the biggest achievement was my mental strength."