In January at the Australian Open, Zheng was seeded 22nd in women's singles.
She advanced to the round of 16 and faced eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Zheng trailed 1–4 in the opening set, but was forced to retire with a left wrist injury after hitting the court while reaching for a ball.
This was the furthest that she progressed at women's singles at this tournament in her career.

In the doubles event, she and her partner Yan Zi were eliminated in the third round, by Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez.

Zheng returned to  at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, and made it to the third round before losing to world No.
1 Serena Williams.
She and her partner, Yan Zi, lost in the first round in doubles to the Bondarenko sisters.
Seeded fourth at the Monterrey Open, she made it to the semifinals before losing to No.
2 seed Marion Bartoli.
After this result, she created her highest world ranking of No.
17 at that time.
Zheng was seeded 17th at the Sony Ericsson Open.
She advanced to the round of 16 before losing to Serena Williams in three sets.
Zheng's strong performance helped her to reach world No.
16, the highest ranking ever by a Chinese tennis player (Li Na had also reached world No.
16 in 2007).

At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Zheng lost to world No.
1 Dinara Safina in three sets.
At the Madrid Open, Zheng fell to Amélie Mauresmo in the second round.
Despite the loss, on 18 May, Zheng became the highest-ranked Chinese player in history, at No.
15.
At the French Open, Zheng (seeded 15th) progressed to the second round before losing Michelle Larcher de Brito in straight sets.
At the Aegon Classic at Birmingham, the first tournament on grass, Zheng was the top seed but lost to the eventual champion Magdaléna Rybáriková in the third round.
Next at the Aegon International.
Zheng advanced to the second round before losing to Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.

Seeded 16th at the Wimbledon Championships, Zheng was upset in the second round by Daniela Hantuchová in straight sets.
As she was a semifinalist the previous year, her ranking fell to world No.
24.
Zheng's next tournament was the LA Women's Tennis Championships as part of her US Open Series campaign.
She advanced to the fourth round before losing to 13th seeded Samantha Stosur in three sets.
At the Toronto, Zheng advanced to the third round before losing to Lucie Šafářová.
At the US Open, Zheng, who was seeded 21, advanced to the third round before losing in straight sets to the No.
13 seed, Nadia Petrova.
Zheng ended the year with a 28–22 singles record and she finished the year ranked world No.
36.
In January at the Australian Open, Zheng was seeded 22nd in women's singles. She advanced to the round of 16 and faced eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. Zheng trailed 1–4 in the opening set, but was forced to retire with a left wrist injury after hitting the court while reaching for a ball. This was the furthest that she progressed at women's singles at this tournament in her career.
In the doubles event, she and her partner Yan Zi were eliminated in the third round, by Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez.
Zheng returned to  at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, and made it to the third round before losing to world No. 1 Serena Williams. She and her partner, Yan Zi, lost in the first round in doubles to the Bondarenko sisters. Seeded fourth at the Monterrey Open, she made it to the semifinals before losing to No. 2 seed Marion Bartoli. After this result, she created her highest world ranking of No. 17 at that time. Zheng was seeded 17th at the Sony Ericsson Open. She advanced to the round of 16 before losing to Serena Williams in three sets. Zheng's strong performance helped her to reach world No. 16, the highest ranking ever by a Chinese tennis player (Li Na had also reached world No. 16 in 2007).
At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Zheng lost to world No. 1 Dinara Safina in three sets. At the Madrid Open, Zheng fell to Amélie Mauresmo in the second round. Despite the loss, on 18 May, Zheng became the highest-ranked Chinese player in history, at No. 15. At the French Open, Zheng (seeded 15th) progressed to the second round before losing Michelle Larcher de Brito in straight sets. At the Aegon Classic at Birmingham, the first tournament on grass, Zheng was the top seed but lost to the eventual champion Magdaléna Rybáriková in the third round. Next at the Aegon International. Zheng advanced to the second round before losing to Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.
Seeded 16th at the Wimbledon Championships, Zheng was upset in the second round by Daniela Hantuchová in straight sets. As she was a semifinalist the previous year, her ranking fell to world No. 24. Zheng's next tournament was the LA Women's Tennis Championships as part of her US Open Series campaign. She advanced to the fourth round before losing to 13th seeded Samantha Stosur in three sets. At the Toronto, Zheng advanced to the third round before losing to Lucie Šafářová. At the US Open, Zheng, who was seeded 21, advanced to the third round before losing in straight sets to the No. 13 seed, Nadia Petrova. Zheng ended the year with a 28–22 singles record and she finished the year ranked world No. 36.
Zheng Jie