Emma Navarro‘s loss at the Paris Olympics came as a big shock for her fans. But while the fans were disappointed after the intense showdown ended, the American WTA star was seemingly angry and wasn’t able to keep the rage within herself, as she regarded Qinwen Zheng’s fiercely competitive nature as “cut-throat.” Although her Chinese rival was busy celebrating the enormous victory, her recent update on Instagram might have reignited the feud.

Qinwen Zheng recently posted a photo on her Instagram story that fanned the flames of an ongoing feud with Emma Navarro. Zheng can be seen standing with her back to the camera flaunting a grey sweatshirt that has a bold statement written over it. “Medaling isn’t for everyone.” This post has drawn the attention of fans, eventually igniting new conversations on social media.

The feud between the two players began after their intense three-set match in the third round of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Zheng, the eventual gold medalist, took down Navarro 6-7 (7), 7-6 (4), 6-1. The atmosphere during the match was already heated up and Navarro couldn’t hold back from expressing her frustration in the aftermath of her defeat, as she engaged in a tense exchange with Zheng during the customary handshake.

“I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor,” Navarro said in a post-match interview. “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. But, kudos to her, she played some good tennis there at the end. She played better than me, so congrats to her,” the American WTA star added.

While things seemed to have calmed down after that, Zheng’s Instagram post has reignited the controversy. As soon as the Instagram update captivated the attention of fans, they saw it as an indirect response to Navarro.

“Emma going to be mad” Fans assume possibilities of Emma Navarro’s reaction to Zheng’s triggering update

Qinwen Zheng has been busy celebrating the Paris Olympics victory ever since she secured the gold medal. While there were no evident reactions from her over the argument with Emma Navarro, her recent Instagram update did the job. Fans, on X, started drawing out possibilities of how Navarro would feel after watching this new image of Zheng.

Navarro’s response in the post-match interview targeted Zheng’s attitude and highlighted how it wasn’t suited for a positive locker room. Recalling Navarro’s statement and taking a dig, a fan seemed to suggest that the American player would be angry after seeing the Instagram update of Zheng. “Emma Navarro when passing Qinwen in the locker room,” the fan wrote.

Another fan, simply assuming that the quote on Zheng’s sweatshirt is enough to drive Navarro crazy, wrote, “I know Emma going to be mad when she sees her with this in the locker room.” Not just with the words, some fans used reaction clips as well to convey their point. “Qinwen wearing that sweater in the locker room as Navarro passes by,” a fan wrote, sharing a video in which a man could be seen raising his eyebrow as a woman passed by him.

“CATCH IT EMMA NAVARRO, DANIELLE COLLINS, AND COCO GAUFF,” a comment read, dragging not just Navarro but Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins as well, who couldn’t attain their goals in the quadrennial event. A fan, sarcastically showing concern, asked everyone to “check on Navarro,” as he also shared an assumption that the 23-year-old would probably be “screaming” after this update reaches her.

With these and several other comments on a similar note, the fans seemed to be having fun, talking about the quote on the back of Zheng’s sweatshirt. Although things have been calm between the two players, it’s possible that Zheng’s Instagram update may not be received well by Navarro. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.