Qinwen Zheng, the No. 5 seed and 2024 Australian Open runner-up, was handed a shocking second-round defeat by world No. 97 Laura Siegemund on Wednesday.

Last year's runner-up Zheng Qinwen was sent crashing out of the Australian Open second round on Wednesday as her bid to emulate Chinese compatriot Li Na's 2014 triumph evaporated after a shock 7-6(3) 6-3 defeat by unseeded German Laura Siegemund.

German veteran Laura Siegemund has powered past reigning Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng in straight sets to deliver the most dramatic upset of the first four days at Melbourne Park.

Distracted by a time penalty and unable to counteract No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund's aggressive approach, Zheng Qinwen's loss in the second round Wednesday fell a long way short of last year's run to the Australian Open final.

Last year's runner-up Zheng Qinwen was sent crashing out of the Australian Open second round after a shock 7-6(3) 6-3 defeat by unseeded German Laura Siegemund on Wednesday. Olympic champion Zheng looked out of sorts in the day's opening match on John Cain Arena,

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen won't be repeating her surprising run to the Australian Open final in 2025 after a second-round upset loss to No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund

Beating Zheng Qinwen at the Australian Open was obviously too much for Laura Siegemund – the German was thrashed by Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round on Friday. The 36-year-old had dominated China’s Olympic gold medallist in their clash two days ago,