UPDATED: Columbia Tennis Star Michael Zheng Chases US Open Dream; Hopes Dashed in 2nd-Round Loss

By Tracy Zwick

Update: 8/22 – Columbia’s Michael Zheng lost in straight sets yesterday in US Open qualifying to 22-year-old Swiss Jérôme Kym. This ends Zheng’s 2025 US Open campaign. The NCAA champ and rising senior will be returning to compete for the Lions; you can see him and the entire CU team in action at the Milstein Family Tennis Center.

Update: 8/19 – Michael Zheng won his first-round match in US Open qualifying this afternoon before a packed house full of Columbia Lions and Upper West Siders. “He played great,” Coach Endelman said from courtside after the match. Zheng outplayed Japanese journeyman Yasutaka Uchiyama from start to finish, with focused serving and precision returns — taking the win in straight sets (6-2, 6-3). He’ll play again tomorrow in another must-win contest to keep his main-draw dream alive. (The schedule for tomorrow’s matches will be released later today.)

Original Story

If you’re a tennis fan, you may have already seen Columbia Men’s Tennis number 1 Michael Zheng in NCAA action at the university’s state-of-the-art Milstein Family Tennis Center. On Tuesday, you can watch collegiate champion Zheng compete with pros in the “qualies,” the qualifying tournament of the US Open main draw. And there’s no charge to watch during this Fan Week at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.

Of 128 players competing in the qualies, just 16 will earn a place in next week’s main draw, with international tennis stars like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Coco Gauff, and Emma Raducanu. 

This is Zheng’s third year to compete in the qualies, and Columbia University head coach Howard Endelman says he is playing “the best tennis he’s ever played.” Two-time Ivy League Player of the Year and an Academic All-American, Zheng’s done more than simply capture the NCAA men’s singles title this year, becoming the first Columbia Lion to win a singles championship in over a century. He also won his first ATP Challenger – part of the professional tennis circuit – earlier this month in Chicago. 

With that, he moved up more than 100 places in the ATP rankings, to number 319 in the world. “He’s a three-time All-American, coming off an incredible week in Chicago,” said Endelman. “He just has to go out there and play his game.”  

Zheng, a rising Columbia senior, will face 33-year-old Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan on Tuesday. Expect “a huge Columbia contingent” at the match, Endelman predicted, “and we’re hoping to have a huge Upper West Side contingent too.” 

Recent Columbia grad Theo Winegar has already locked down a berth in the main doubles draw, which gets underway August 30th. Coach Endelman, a former pro who’s played the US Open himself, will be on hand to support both players. “This is the dream if you’re an American kid, like Michael and Theo, growing up playing tennis: to play at the US Open,” he told the Rag. 

The qualifying tournament is single-elimination and takes place over four days: Monday through Thursday this week beginning at 11 a.m. each day. Matches are best of three sets, and most matches take place on the intimate outer courts, where spectators can sit almost directly behind the players and chair umpires. 

For more on Fan Week and next week’s main US Open competition, see WSR’s guide – HERE.

Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.