By Shrivathsa Sridhar MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Zheng Qinwen was the first big name to exit the women's draw at the Australian Open on Wednesday after the Olympic champion was stunned by Laura Siegemund while top seed Aryna Sabalenka made heavy weather of her second-round match before going through.

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 Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen has crashed out in a huge upset in the second round at Melbourne Park to unfancied German veteran Laura Siegemund. The fifth-seeded Zheng came into the first major of 2025 in imperious form.

“I tried not to do too many fancy things, but really stick with my clear plan,” is how Laura Siegemund explained her second-round upset of Zheng Qinwen, the second-place finisher at last year’s Australian Open.

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.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Distracted by a time penalty and unable to counteract No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund's aggressive ... the 2024 decider at Melbourne Park to Aryna Sabalenka and went on ...

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP ... Open final in 2025 after a second-round upset loss to No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund on Wednesday. Zheng lost the 2024 championship match at Melbourne Park to ...

Zheng Qinwen admits it was not her day as she was beaten in the Australian Open second round in the biggest shock of the tournament so far.

Ukrainian No. 28 seed Elina Svitolina has declared she is willing to “almost die on court” in order to beat a Russian opponent after she stormed into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open for the third time.

Zheng lost the 2024 decider at Melbourne Park to Aryna Sabalenka and went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris

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.