Hometown favorite Qinwen Zheng let her heart out to win a match. However, that dropped her under severe criticism. In a crucial on-court battle against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, Zheng made a gesture that brought her luck, leaving her Canadian opponent in sheer misery. As the scene unfolded to the fraternity with clarity, it highlighted how Zheng’s act exposed her insecurity in the tournament.

Zheng defeated Fernandez in the Wuhan Open to reach the tournament quarterfinals. It was the first time in their three meetings that Zheng superseded the Canadian WTA star. Their last meet-up was in the third round of this year’s Qatar Open, which Fernandez won 7-5, 6-3. As for this recent match, while the Chinese star’s performance amazed audiences, she caught the spotlight for a different reason. A controversial drama between the players stormed social media with their supporters dropping a possible idea about what resulted in Fernandez’s loss.

Tennis podcaster Myles David further tweeted about the incident, shedding light on what happened. Replying to an X user’s tweet that read, “Don’t know what Zheng said to Leylah’s box in game 3 of set 2 (starting to realise why Qinwen isn’t the most popular amongst other players), but it completely threw her. Fernandez was brilliant (and in control) up until that point, but not quite the same player after,” he first replied…

“The commentator in the match actually said that Fernandez’s dad can be “quite vocal, who knows what he was saying that obviously upset Zheng”. So maybe (and it looked more likely) Zheng Qinwen was replying to something said to her.” 

He then further highlighted, “Context: Fernandez was up 40-30, game point in the third game of the second set. Zheng saved that game point with a forehand winner and before the deuce point begins you can see her look to her right while anticipating a return and engage conversation with Fernandez’s player box. Fernandez double faulted in the very next point but not before walking closer to the net and asking Zheng what she said, they exchanged words, and then words were exchanged to the chair ump. Couldn’t make a lot of it out but the word “respectful” was in the conversation.”

The Canadian won only two more games in the match after the conversation. However, a tennis analyst revealed how Zheng mentioned she was distracted by Fernandez’s father’s cheer. Qinwen Zheng’s seemingly “entitled” behavior disappointed the fraternity as they understood it is normal for any father to cheer for their daughter.

Notably, this is not the first time Zheng has been in the middle of a similar controversy. Case in point: Ahead of this year US Open semi-final, Emma Navarro had accused the 22-year-old of disrespecting her. “I think during that match and on the practice court and the last few times I’ve played her, I felt just a little bit disrespected by her…I don’t want to go too into detail with it. But yeah, I think she didn’t necessarily treat me or the sport with respect.”

Zheng, on the other hand, called the US player a “great opponent”, but complained: “She [Emma] 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, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person.” And that’s not even the end of the controversy…

After the same tournament’s quarterfinal clash between Qinwen and Aryna Sabalenka—which the latter won 6-1, 6-2—Zheng was seen giving her opponent the cold shoulder as she avoided the customary handshake with their opponent, prompting the Belarusian to chuckle.

As for the latest incident, the Chinese player had no regrets. She politely expressed her part, making a swift move to the quarterfinals.

Qinwen Zheng denies being disrespectful

The WTA number seven had a conversation with the WTA where she confessed her feelings about the drama. Zheng said, “Actually, I was distracted in the first set by what the dad is saying because Leylah was on the other side. He was always talking, ‘C’mon, c’mon,’ before I start to return. That’s why I think I lost the game when I was 0-30, because I was a little bit distracted. After that he was continue doing. Plus the pain I had in the stomach, the fight against the opponent. One moment I cannot hold more. I said to him, ‘You must talk before I start to return?'” Zheng confirmed that her emotional outburst helped her secure the win. However, she didn’t drop a single word about how she thinks the situation impacted her opponent.

“After that actually, I start to feel better, because is what I have in my heart, I didn’t say anything disrespectful. I just say what I feel without bad word,” Zheng concluded.

Qinwen Zheng and Leylah Fernandez’s drama in Wuhan shows how small arguments can distract players from impacting their match results. How would you have reacted in the situation?