With multiple top players withdrawing from the Beijing Open 2024, Qinwen Zheng has a legitimate shot at becoming the first Chinese national to win her home tournament. Aside from that, Zheng’s massive crowd support following her opening-round win has prompted fans of the 21-year-old to take shots at Emma Navarro due to their past feud.
Playing in front of the packed Diamond Court, the Shiyan native required merely 82 minutes to breeze past Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-1 in the opening round.
The atmosphere was deafening, to say the least, indicating that Zheng had the most support among all the players in Beijing.
The home favorite recorded a heartfelt message for her supporters after the win, which WTA later posted on its official social media handles. The noise behind the Olympic gold medalist was so loud that she was barely audible in the video.
“I really enjoy to play here in the China Open. The atmosphere tonight was unbelievable. It’s unreal, I never thought so many fans will come support me… Well, that’s it. See you next round,” a victorious Zheng said.
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The love that Zheng received from her fans surprised many on social media. In response to this, they dragged Navarro into the conversation.
Fans tease Emma Navarro after Qinwen Zheng gets massive support
It didn’t help that Navarro suffered a shocking first-round exit from the Beijing Open 2024. With Zheng winning big and Navarro losing in the opening round, fans wasted no time poking fun at the American player on social media.
Emma Navarro has been targetted in a latest post featuring Qinwen Zheng! pic.twitter.com/KnfasAmHuK
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) September 29, 2024
Navarro and Zheng had a fallout at the Olympics and fans remembered that due to the Chinese star’s message for fans in Beijing. pic.twitter.com/jyPeljE7BD
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) September 29, 2024
Navarro is not a favorite amongst many fans despite clarifying her stance on the Zheng comments. pic.twitter.com/sFcNYKCLKD
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) September 29, 2024
It all started when Navarro appeared to be frustrated at Zheng after losing to the Chinese player in the third round of the 2024 Olympics. During the customary post-match handshake, the 23-year-old stared down at Zheng and passed nasty comments.
“I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor… I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way. It makes for a locker room that doesn’t have a lot of camaraderie, so it’s tough to face an opponent like that, who I really don’t respect,” Navarro had said in the post-match press conference.
Undeterred by the criticism, Zheng went on to win the women’s singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Since then, fans have been searching for moments like these to troll Navarro, and they found one at the Beijing Open.
While Navarro is likely to participate next in the WTA 125 Hong Kong Open, Zheng will face Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska in the round of 32 at the Diamond Court on Monday. Fans interested in catching this entertaining matchup can watch it on the Tennis Channel or stream it live on Tennis TV as well, at 7 AM ET.
