US star slams tennis rival after tense handshake
Olympic tennis is being played at Roland Garros and American Emma Navarro gave fans a taste of some grand slam drama.
After her three hour loss to China’s Qinwen Zheng in the third round of women’s singles – going down 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 – Navarro, ranked 15th by the WTA, had a tense confrontation with Zheng at the net, which led to some verbal jabs in the post-match press conference.
“I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor,” the 23-year-old Navarro said.
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“I think she goes about things in a pretty cutthroat 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.
“But, kudos to her, she played some good tennis there at the end. She played better than me.”
Zheng and Navarro meet at the net. Nine
Responding to questions about her interaction with Navarro at the net, Zheng was diplomatic before throwing some shade at her opponent’s performance.
“She told me she doesn’t know how I have a lot of fans,” Zheng, 21, said.
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“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.”
Zheng added: “I’m glad that she told me that. I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match.”
Zheng won in three sets. Nine
The 21-year-old Chinese player made the Australian Open final in January, falling to Aryna Sabalenka.
Navarro’s 2024 season has been her best yet, with the US player making the third round in Melbourne, the fourth round at Roland-Garros and the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July.
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The top remaining women’s competitors vying for gold in the women’s tennis include Angelique Kerber, Iga Swiatek, Zheng and Danielle Collins.
Zheng will now play Germany’s former world No.1 in Kerber on Wednesday in a bid to make the semi-final and put herself in medal contention.
The 36-year-old Kerber is playing in her final tournament before she retires.
She defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 to progress.
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