Michael Zheng Advances to Wimbledon Main Draw
6/25/2026 11:01:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Zheng punches his ticket to his third grand slam this year
NEW YORK – Columbia men's tennis alum Michael Zheng (CC26) defeated fellow American Colton Smith (6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3) to capture a spot in the Wimbledon Main Draw. This will be Zheng's third Grand Slam appearance in 2026.
The recent graduate competed at the French Open earlier this summer and advanced to the second round of the Australian Open in January.
Ranked No. 143 in the latest ATP rankings, a career-best for the Montville, N.J. native, Zheng opened his run with a straight-sets win over Germany's Henri Squire, 6-2, 7-6(7-3) in the first round of the qualifiers.
In the second round, Zheng once again made quick work of his opponent. Defeating Serbian Laslo Djere 7-5, 6-3. In the third round matchup against Smith, ranked No. 188 in the latest ATP rankings, Zheng took control thanks to his serve. Zheng notched eight aces in the match and won 75% of the points on his first serve.
This will be Zheng's second appearance in the main draw of a grand slam, in May he lost in the opening round of the French Open to Croatian Dino Prizmic (6-1, 6-1, 6-3). In January, he advanced to the second round of the Australian Open, where he lost to No. 32 Corentin Moutet of France. He is the first Columbia player to play in a tennis grand slam since Phil Williamson qualified for the US Open in 1993.
Zheng is the first Lion since Vitas Gerulaitis played in the main draw of Wimbledon in 1985. Gerulaitis appeared in Wimbledon 12 times, advancing to the semifinals in 1977 and 1978. Gerulatis played five dual matches as a freshman for the Lions in 1973 before he turned pro.
Zheng returns to the court on Monday, June 29, in the opening round. The draw will be announced later this week.
All rounds of the Wimbledon Championships are televised across the ESPN family of networks in the U.S. (including ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2), with comprehensive live streaming of every match from all courts available on ESPN+.
Fans can also follow Zheng's progress on the Columbia men's tennis social media platforms on X (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten), and Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
The recent graduate competed at the French Open earlier this summer and advanced to the second round of the Australian Open in January.
Ranked No. 143 in the latest ATP rankings, a career-best for the Montville, N.J. native, Zheng opened his run with a straight-sets win over Germany's Henri Squire, 6-2, 7-6(7-3) in the first round of the qualifiers.
In the second round, Zheng once again made quick work of his opponent. Defeating Serbian Laslo Djere 7-5, 6-3. In the third round matchup against Smith, ranked No. 188 in the latest ATP rankings, Zheng took control thanks to his serve. Zheng notched eight aces in the match and won 75% of the points on his first serve.
This will be Zheng's second appearance in the main draw of a grand slam, in May he lost in the opening round of the French Open to Croatian Dino Prizmic (6-1, 6-1, 6-3). In January, he advanced to the second round of the Australian Open, where he lost to No. 32 Corentin Moutet of France. He is the first Columbia player to play in a tennis grand slam since Phil Williamson qualified for the US Open in 1993.
Zheng is the first Lion since Vitas Gerulaitis played in the main draw of Wimbledon in 1985. Gerulaitis appeared in Wimbledon 12 times, advancing to the semifinals in 1977 and 1978. Gerulatis played five dual matches as a freshman for the Lions in 1973 before he turned pro.
Zheng returns to the court on Monday, June 29, in the opening round. The draw will be announced later this week.
All rounds of the Wimbledon Championships are televised across the ESPN family of networks in the U.S. (including ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2), with comprehensive live streaming of every match from all courts available on ESPN+.
Fans can also follow Zheng's progress on the Columbia men's tennis social media platforms on X (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten), and Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
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