Wang Qiang (tennis)

Wang got off to a very slow start in the 2018 season, winning just one main draw match in her first four tournaments. She then reached the fourth round in Indian Wells, defeating former top-10 players Timea Bacsinszky and Kristina Mladenovic en route, before falling to world No. 1 Simona Halep. Wang struggled in her next five tournaments though, and her ranking dropped to no. 91 in the world.

She then reached her first quarterfinal of the year in Strasbourg, losing to top seed Ashleigh Barty. At the French Open, Wang upset the ninth seed and seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the first round, then defeated Petra Martić to advance to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. However, she was then beaten by Yulia Putintseva. The only grass court tournament she played in was Wimbledon, where she lost in the opening round to compatriot Zheng Saisai.

Wang won the golden medal in singles at the Asian Games defeating Jeong Su-nam, Gozal Ainitdinova, Aldila Sutjiadi, Liang En-shuo, and finally compatriot Zhang Shuai in the final.

Wang also had a great run in the Asian Swing. She won her first WTA tour tile in July at Jiangxi, where she defeated Zheng Saisai in the final. After reaching the third round at the US Open before falling to Elina Svitolina, Wang won her second title of the year (and career) in Guangzhou, where she didn't drop more than four games in each match throughout the tournament. As a result of her Guangzhou triumph, she reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 34 and replaced Zhang Shuai as the highest-ranked Chinese player.

The next week, she competed at the Premier-5 tournament in Wuhan, where she defeated Maria Sakkari, eighth seed Karolína Plíšková, and Daria Gavrilova in the first three matches. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 2016 Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig in straight sets to reach the semifinals, but was forced to retire from the match against Anett Kontaveit due to injury. She became the first ever Chinese player to reach the semifinals at the tournament, and reached another new career-high ranking of No. 28.

Wang received a wildcard into the China Open in Beijing. As a Wuhan Open semifinalist, she received a first-round bye. She defeated the 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round by 6–0, 6–0. In the third round, she beat Karolína Plíšková for the second time in consecutive weeks in straight sets. In the quarterfinal, she defeated Wuhan champion Aryna Sabalenka in two very tight sets. Her run ended in the semifinal, at the hands of former world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki. However, her first ever Premier Mandatory semifinal earned her a new career-high ranking of No. 24.

Wang was seeded sixth in Hong Kong. She defeated Zhang Ling and Christina McHale to reach the quarterfinals, where she faced top seed Elina Svitolina. Wang took a decisive lead quickly, taking the first set 6–2 and was leading 5–2 in the second when the match was suspended for the night due to a sudden downpour. She closed out the set 6–4 the next day, advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinal she defeated fourth seed Garbiñe Muguruza in three sets, coming back from a 1–4 deficit in the third to win 7–5. In her third final of the year, Wang was defeated by 18-year-old Dayana Yastremska in straight sets. On 22 October, she reached a new career-high ranking of No. 22.

She was awarded a wild card to enter the WTA Elite Trophy, but with withdrawals from both Serena Williams and Jelena Ostapenko, she qualified for the main draw with her ranking. In her first round-robin match, she lost to Daria Kasatkina in three sets. She then played Madison Keys, winning the match in three sets. Later, Keys, as the winner of the group, announced her withdrawal due to a knee injury, allowing the second-placed Wang to play the semifinal match against Muguruza, where she won in straight sets.[9] In the final, she was defeated by Ashleigh Barty. Her performance in Zhuhai saw her break the top 20 for the first time, and ensured she would end the year as world No. 20.

Wang at the 2019 Wimbledon

Seeded 21st at the Australian Open (her first ever seeding at a Grand Slam tournament), Wang defeated Fiona Ferro and Aleksandra Krunić, and then lost to 13th seed Anastasija Sevastova. This was her best performance to date at the tournament. At Indian Wells, she defeated 16th seed Elise Mertens and reached the fourth round, losing to the Canadian wildcard (and eventual champion) Bianca Andreescu. In Miami, she reached the quarterfinals, where she lost to second seed Simona Halep. At the Prague Open, she was seeded third, reaching the quarterfinals and then lost to Bernarda Pera. Wang failed to advance past the second round at any tournament during the clay-court season, losing in the first round at Madrid and Rome, and losing in the second round at Strasbourg and the French Open.

At the Birmingham Classic, she defeated Lauren Davis and then lost to Venus Williams in the second round. She subsequently withdrew from the Eastbourne International. At Wimbledon, she was seeded 15th. She defeated Vera Lapko and Tamara Zidanšek, and then lost to Elise Mertens in the third round. This was her best result at the tournament to date.

She achieved a series of new career-high rankings over the course of the year, achieving the world No. 15 ranking prior to Wimbledon.

At the US Open, Wang was seeded 18th. She defeated Caroline Dolehide, Alison Van Uytvanck, and Fiona Ferro to advance to the second week of a Grand Slam event for the first time. She then upset tournament favorite and world No. 2, Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round, her first victory over a top-three player, to advance to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. She became just the fifth Chinese player in history, after Li Na, Zheng Jie, Peng Shuai, and Zhang Shuai, to reach a Grand Slam singles quarterfinal, and the third to do so at the US Open, after Li and Peng. However, she heavily lost to eventual runner-up Serena Williams in straight sets, winning just one game. After the tournament, she rose six places to reach another new career high of world No. 12, becoming the second-highest ranked Chinese singles player in history.

Wang struggled following the US Open though, managing just two match wins on the Asian hard-courts, one in Wuhan and the other in Tianjin. After failing to qualify or receive a wild card for the WTA Elite Trophy, she finished the year ranked world No. 29, her second consecutive year inside the top 30.

Wang opened her new season with a quarterfinal appearance at the Shenzhen Open and a first-round loss to Angelique Kerber at the Adelaide International. Seeded 27th at the Australian Open, she defeated Pauline Parmentier and Fiona Ferro to reach the third round, where she pulled off a major upset by defeating eighth seed Serena Williams in three sets, avenging her lopsided loss to the American at the previous US Open.[10][11] However, she was upset herself in the fourth round by the unseeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur.