Navarro was asked at the US Open about calling out Zheng at the US Open.
Emma Navarro has no regrets over brutally calling out Zheng Qinwen following their Paris Olympics match as the American tennis star highlights she meant what she said and it definitely wasn’t something that was an impulsive reaction.
In her Olympic debut, the 23-year-old made it past her opening two rounds before suffering a tight 7-6 (7) 6-7 (4) 1-6 round-of-16 loss to this year’s Australian Open finalist.
Moments after the match ended, the 12th-ranked American was seen saying something to the 21-year-old Chinese. And since it was clear that Zheng was a bit stunned, it was evident that it wasn’t something pleasant. Asked about it in her post-match presser, Navarro bluntly said she “did not respect” the world No. 7.
“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,” the American said in Paris.
On Tuesday, the No. 13 seed defeated Paula Badosa 6-2 7-5 to progress into the US Open semifinal. Since she was awaiting the winner of the match between Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng, the 23-year-old was asked about their dramatic Olympic moment.
“Yeah. I don’t want to go super into the weeds with it, but I think during that match and, you know, on the practice court and the last few times l’ve played her, because we have been playing each other since we were juniors, I felt just a little bit disrespected by her. You know, I don’t want to, like I said, go too into detail with it. But yeah, I think she didn’t necessarily treat me or the sport with respect. That’s why I said what I said after the match. But, yeah, that’s it,” Navarro said.
Navarro clarifies the Zheng situation: It wasn’t an emotional outburst
Since the American is in the midst of a breakout year, fans have gotten some good chances to see her tennis abilities but to also get to know more about her personality. And since this year’s Hobart champion is always looking calm on the court – not showing much – and pretty much being stoic, some were left surprised after she blasted the Chinese tennis star.
Directly asked if she was surprised about the entire Zheng situation, the 23-year-old shut down claims that she reacted in a moment of frustration but also admitted that she didn’t expect that it would draw so much attention.
“No, I haven’t spoken to her since. And, no, I didn’t surprise myself. I felt that way the whole match. Even if I had won, I probably would have said the same thing. You know, it wasn’t a sort of, in-the-moment emotional thing, it was just kind of how I felt. I think it got a lot more attention than I thought it was going to. Yeah, I think, you know, maybe it’s just one person’s opinion. Yeah, it wasn’t an emotional outburst. It was just kind of matter of factually how I felt,” Navarro noted.
What Zheng said after the incident?
To no one’s surprise, the reporters were keen on knowing how the Chinese felt about the entire situation and what the American had to say about her. Addressing the moment, the four-time WTA winner gave a politically correct answer, suggesting she was willing to sit down with the world No. 12 and hear what she was doing wrong so she could fix it.
At the time, the current world No. 7 also shared another brutal shade from Navarro, revealing that the 23-year-old wondered how did she grew such a big fanbase.
“If she is not happy with my behavior, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person. I am happy that she told me. I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match. She told me that she doesn’t know how I have so many fans. It seems that she is not happy with my behavior towards her,” Zheng said.
Hours after Navarro sent Badosa home to progress into her maiden Slam semifinal, No. 2 seed Sabalenka dismantled the seventh-seeded Chinese 6-1 6-2. And because of that, there would not be a Navarro and Zheng rematch at Flushing Meadows.
Had the rematch happened in New York, there is no doubt that the home crowd would have the Olympic incident in the back of their minds and heavily side on the American tennis star’s side.
However, Navarro can still expect to get a major support when she meets Sabalenka in the US Open semifinal.
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