China’s Zheng Qingwen defeated American Emma Navarro 6:7, 7:6, 6:1 in the third round of the Paris Olympics. The match lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes and was full of dramatic moments.
In the second set, Qinwen regained a match point at 3:5 and a serve for the match at 4:5. After this, Navarro fell apart and offered virtually no resistance in the decisive game.
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Emma and Zheng had, as it seemed from the outside, a not-so-pleasant exchange during a handshake at the net. At the press conference, Navarro was asked what she said to her opponent. And Emma decided to answer without choosing words.
“I told her that I don’t respect her as an athlete. In my opinion, she is behaving very aggressively. And it is difficult to play with an opponent that you don’t respect. But we have to give her credit: in the end she played good tennis. She played better than me, so we have to congratulate her,” Navarro said.
Emma Navarro and Zheng Qingwen had a not-so-pleasant conversation online after the Olympic match
Photo: frame from the broadcast.
Qinwen commented on Emma’s comments at her press conference.
“She said that she doesn’t know why I have so many fans. It seems that she was not happy with my behavior. If she doesn’t like something, she can tell me. And I would like to fix that and become a better player and a better person. I am glad that she told me this. I won’t consider it an attack because she lost,” Qinwen said.
Navarro made a rather harsh accusation against Qinwen, but did not specifically reveal the essence of his claims. He said Zheng has many admirers, but this is not surprising. Qinwen, 21, is China’s top tennis player, having reached the final of the last Australian Open and coming closest to the country’s first Grand Slam title since Li Na.
Navarro, 23, cannot boast of such successes yet. Emma is the daughter of billionaire Ben Navarro, owner of the Charleston tournament. She is also making great strides this season. The American won her first and so far only WTA title in January at the 250-class tournament in Hobart. She is currently in the top 15 of the world rankings, but is still behind her compatriots Cori Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins and Madison Keys. The mood of many tennis players for the Olympics is not comparable to that of the TBS, so Emma had the chance to make a splash. But Qinwen stood in her way, whom the American publicly criticised after the match.
What exactly did Emma dislike about Zheng and what does she mean by “aggressive behavior”? There is still no answer to this question. Qingwen may not be the most affable tennis player on the WTA tour, but most of her peers are no different in this regard. Few athletes radiate positivity on the level of the ever-smiling Italian Yasmine Paolini, including Navarro herself, who is almost always calm and emotionless on the court. Perhaps Emma holds a grudge against Zheng for stealing American teammate Cori Gauff from coach Pere Riba? Corey wanted to continue working with Riba, but did not express any particular complaints about her departure. Moreover, in this case, the questions are more about the ethics of the coach’s action and not Qingwen. And it is still unclear why this incident caught Navarro’s attention so much.
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Of course, ordinary tennis fans do not see what is happening off the court, but there have been no harsh accusations against Zheng before. Navarro did not explain the essence of her discontent not only to journalists, but also to the Chinese herself, as follows from Qinwen’s statement, who asks for further explanatory conversation. Zheng reacted to Emma’s attack quite diplomatically, although in the last sentence there is some mockery of her rival. However, the Chinese had the right to do so, since she did not start the conflict after the match.
Navarro was most likely speaking out of emotion. She suffered a disappointing defeat when victory was very close. In the quarterfinals, Qinwen will play three-time TBS champion Angelique Kerber, for whom this is the last tournament of her career. Zheng will be the clear favorite and has an excellent chance of reaching the semifinals, where she will most likely face Iga Swiatek. Zheng had a real chance of playing at least the bronze medal match, while Navarro missed that opportunity.
American tennis players did not have good results in singles at the Olympic Games
Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images
American tennis players generally fared poorly in the women’s singles event at the Olympics, even though expectations were high for them. Jessica Pegula and Cori Gauff were eliminated even before Navarro, having been favored in matches against Elina Svitolina and Donna Vekic, respectively.
Emma is ranked 11th at the Olympics and Qinwen is ranked sixth. The Chinese player’s victory seems expected, but the opponents are not so different in class. Navarro could easily have made a bigger push, but at key moments she was unable to cope with her nerves and dropped out of the medal race. Of the American representatives, only Danielle Collins remains in the draw, who will face world number one Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals – which on the courts of Roland Garros is actually a death sentence for any tennis player.
