Qinwen Zheng Shows She is the Real Deal in Women’s Tennis After Winning Hearts in Emma Navarro and Naomi Osaka Controversies

Advait Jajodia | 31/07/2024
Qinwen Zheng reacts after winning a point at the Olympics 2024

The fourth day of the tennis event at the 2024 Olympics was exciting by all measures. Title contenders like Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini, and Maria Sakkari suffered shock losses. The action-packed day also consisted of the Qinwen Zheng-Emma Navarro clash that was full of drama.

Many assumed the first match on Court 7 to be over in straight sets when Navarro was on a match point at 5-3 in the second set. However, the Chinese national put up an incredible fight to make a stunning comeback to win 6-7, 7-6, 6-1. The two WTA stars exchanged a few words during the hostile handshake after the conclusion of the match.

Details of what had been said were revealed by Navarro in the post-game interview. The American disclosed that she didn’t respect Zheng as an opponent and mentioned her reason for the same.

“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 said.

Now, many athletes wouldn’t appreciate such snarky comments being passed. However, the 21-year-old won the hearts of tennis fans by deciding not to retaliate. Instead of clapping back, the World No.7 admitted being grateful for receiving honest feedback. She would use this to improve as a player and a person.

“She told me she doesn’t know how I have a lot of fans. It looks like she’s not happy with my behaviour towards her. If she’s not happy about my behaviour, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person. I’m glad that she told me that. I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match,” Zheng said.

Tennis enthusiasts loved the classy response. They showed a lot of appreciation for the youngster on social media.

This isn’t the first time that Zheng has displayed utmost professionalism. Her incident from earlier this year involving her former coach and Naomi Osaka also revealed a lot about her conduct.

Zheng avoided controversy by showcasing appreciation for Osaka

In 2023, Wim Fissette broke his contract with Zheng to return as Naomi Osaka’s coach. Despite the bad blood with her former coach, Zheng didn’t let her relationship with Fissette lead to anything unsavory with Naomi Osaka.

The Chinese star clinched a 6-2, 6-4 win against Osaka at the Italian Open 2024. During the interview, it seemed as though the interviewer’s question wanted to create an enmity between the two players. However, Zheng smartly avoided the controversy by displaying appreciation for the four-time Grand Slam winner.

“I have more respect to her. Because she (has) come back as a mother. I think, as a woman, that’s really not easy. I have all the respect for all the tennis players, who come back as a mother.

This only a woman (would) know, how difficult is that. Yeah, so I treat her like big respect, like normal opponent. Nothing to think more. Just me against her, and let’s play. I will give my best anyway,” Zheng responded to a question related to the coach issue.

Zheng is already the talk of the tennis world for her latest actions and can add a few more supporters to her fanbase by finishing the tournament with a medal.

Post Edited By: Dhruv Rupani
Emma Navarro Olympics 2024 Zheng Qinwen

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Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia, an NBA and Tennis journalist for The SportsRush, has had a passion for both sports for over a decade. His admiration for Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, and Rafael Nadal pushed him to gain a profound understanding of the sports. With a background as a multi-sport athlete, Advait uses his experience on the hardwood and the court to offer insightful analysis. Over four years of dedicated sports journalism has equipped the 22-year-old with a unique perspective, reflected in his prolific portfolio of 4,700+ articles.

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