Former Columbia University Star Michael Zheng to Make His U.S. Open Debut

By Tracy Zwick

The rest of the tennis world may be discovering Michael Zheng this summer. But in-the-know Upper West Siders have been watching the former Columbia University Lion’s rise for the past four years.

Two-time NCAA champion and two-time Academic All-American Zheng missed his graduation from Columbia last spring. But he had a good excuse. He’d made his way through qualifying to land a spot in the main draw of the French Open in Paris – the year’s third Grand Slam tennis tournament. 

Zheng had already come through qualifiers at the Australian Open in January, while in his final semester at the Morningside Heights school. And he’d soon take the same path to the main draw of Wimbledon this summer. 

The U.S. Open makes him four-for-four in 2026 – having earned main draw spots in each of the year’s four elite tennis contests. He did it the hard way in the first three, coming through qualifying. Having narrowly missed the ranking cut-off for automatic entry into the U.S. Open’s main draw, the tournament rewarded Zheng for his extraordinary year with a wild card entry to the main draw, sparing him the need to play qualifiers.

Zheng previously played the U.S. Open’s qualifying tournament three consecutive times (2023-2025), never making it to the main draw. 

He premieres in the main draw on Tuesday, September 1, against World No. 63 Fabian Marozsan of Hungary. Both players are unseeded. Zheng beat Marozsan 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) just over two weeks ago in Cincinnati, coming back after losing the opening set and winning decisively in a tiebreak.

At Wimbledon last month, Zheng made it all the way to the 3rd round and the storied tournament’s Centre Court. He lost there to Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, who is currently ranked No. 4 in the world. 

On the way, Zheng took out British No. 1 Cameron Norrie in a five-set thriller decided by a tense tiebreak. 

“He’s a great player,” Norrie told WSR on Sunday at the USTA’s Billie Jean King Tennis Center, where the U.S. Open is held. “I  practiced with him before the tournament. He’s very tough, point-in and point-out.” 

Looking back at their Centre Court match, Norrie, himself a former NCAA champ, reflected that “in that fifth set tiebreak with me, … he played to win and won it. That was impressive.” 

When Zheng plays in New York, he’s rarely without a cheering section. Zheng’s Columbia teammates, classmates and coaches often turn out in force, joined by UWS fans along with family and friends from the Northern New Jersey community where he grew up.

Zheng will play on one of the Open’s field courts on Tuesday. A grounds pass, or any stadium ticket, will get you a spot at the intimate Court 11, where fans sit close enough to high-five the players. (But don’t!) First serve is tentatively scheduled for 1:50 p.m., but is likely to start later, depending on the duration of the two matches scheduled for Court 11 before Zheng’s. 

U.S. Open matches are televised on ESPN. Check the U.S. Open’s website or app for real-time scores and final court assignments, which sometimes change at the last minute.

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