Zheng wins comeback award

China's Zheng Jie was awarded the 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Comeback Player of the Year on Thursday, making her the first Chinese player to win the annual award.

The 26-year-old native of Sichuan province rebounded from an injury-marred 2007 for her best season to date, highlighted by a run to her first Grand Slam singles semifinal at last July's Wimbledon, beating then world No 1 Serbian Ana Ivanovic.

Zheng secured two more semifinal appearances during the 2008 season at the Guangzhou International Open and the China Open in Beijing. She finished the season as world No 25, the highest ranking for a Chinese player to date.