As encouraging as all the triumphant moments on court are, highlighted by her history-making Paris 2024 win, setbacks — such as early exits at majors, upsets against opponents that, on paper, she should be beating and reoccurring injuries — can also push her forward if handled in the right way, she said.

And she's learned to traverse the hard path better, drawing strength from the best in the business.

"You need to learn how to coexist with pain," Zheng said in the interview following a ceremony on Saturday where she was named among the 10 most "nation-moving" figures across all walks of life in 2024 by CMG for her Paris heroics.

"I've started to practice and I can play now, though I still feel it in my elbow. How to live with pain and control it is part of the everyday routine of a pro athlete.

"(Rafael) Nadal basically carried injuries with him throughout the majority of his career and still ended up becoming one of the game's greatest. His stories are so inspiring for me.

"There will always be ups and downs in professional tennis. The 2025 season didn't go easy on me in the beginning, with my performance affected by the injury.

"But, I told myself it's only temporary, and that I should focus on the process (of my comeback)."

Having already decided to skip the US Open due to her lengthy rehab, Zheng seems quite positive about returning to action in time for the hard-court season's China swing, beginning with the WTA 1000 China Open, the main draw of which kicks off on Sept 24.

Ten days after her surgery, Zheng's new fitness coach Gabriel Echevarria began posting photos on Instagram showing that Zheng's endurance training and strength and conditioning sessions are progressing well and are on track.

Should she come back 100 percent fit, Zheng's season-ending campaign will garner high expectations, considering some of her 2025 highlights when she was healthy.

After having lost to Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka six times in a row, Zheng backed up her improved strength on clay with a career-first win against the world No 1 in their seventh encounter in the quarterfinals of the Rome Open in May.