It seems like Qinwen Zheng and handshakes don’t go hand-in-hand! There have been multiple such instances over the last few months when we’ve seen her cold handshakes making the headlines in the tennis world. Just a few hours ago, we saw a stellar comeback from Coco Gauff to clinch the title at the WTA Finals, but still, somehow, Zheng’s post-match handshake has now managed to become the talk of the town. Serena Williams’ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, has been quite vocal about Gauff’s performance in the last few matches. Now, Stubbs is talking about their post-match handshake at the WTA Finals.

Coco Gauff defeated Qinwen Zheng by 3-6,6-4,7-6(2) in the 3-hour and 4-minute final match in Riyadh! Shortly after this emphatic triumph, Gauff was spotted dropping to the floor and screaming out to celebrate her win. After expressing a sigh of relief following this hard-fought victory, Gauff stood up on her feet and shook hands with Qinwen Zheng and the chair umpire before expanding her celebration with the crowd. However, Zheng showed literally no emotions during the handshake, and this has now yet again raised a few eyebrows in the tennis world.

Rennae Stubbs was spotted coming up with a tweet stating, “Coco will win now….. been a great contest and a wonderful rivalry hopefully for the future.” Then interestingly, a fan commented on that post saying, “Great match. So happy to see her win. And what a warm and emotional handshake at the net 😉.” Then Stubbs replied to that comment with an emoji, “😂.” After witnessing what happened this season featuring Qinwen Zheng’s post-match reaction, it was quite obvious for the tennis world to keep a keen eye on her reaction after the defeat, and guess what? Zheng didn’t disappoint them!

What had happened previously, though? Qinwen Zheng came under fire for her “rude” handshake with Aryna Sabalenka after their QF match at the 2024 US Open. In that match, Sabalenka defeated Zheng by 6-1,6-2 and perhaps the Chinese was a bit too disappointed with her performance that time. We saw a similar reaction from her at the Wuhan Open when Sabalenka yet again defeated her in a three-set thriller in the final of that tournament. She barely made eye contact with Sabalenka during the handshake!

Are Sabalenka and Gauff the only ones to witness the frosty reactions from Qinwen Zheng? Well, the answer is no. Previously we’ve heard Donna Vekic say that “a lot of controversial stories” are floating about the Chinese star in the locker room. Although she didn’t elaborate much on that at that time, we saw a similar frosty handshake at the net after their match at the Paris Olympics. Even Emma Navarro was also heard complaining about feeling a little bit “disrespected” by Qinwen Zheng. What did Zheng say about Coco Gauff after the final match in Riyadh, though?

“Congrats to the champion” – Qinwen Zheng on Coco Gauff’s incredible win at the WTA Finals

Qinwen Zheng is notoriously known for her unfriendliness on the Tour. Why doesn’t she like to make friends on the Tour, though? Well, during a previous interview, Zheng revealed, “I have not changed the thought (of not making friends on tour), because if I wanna make true friends, I’d want the best for them, but they’d also want to win, it’s difficult to compete with friends, they’d not be happy if they lose, and I’ll not be happy either if I lost.” However, we did see her share a few words for Coco Gauff after her defeat at the WTA Finals and she even wished her luck for the future.

Reflecting on her incredible journey in 2024, where she won 2 titles and also won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, Zheng thanked all her teammates for their constant support. She shared a few words on the crowd in Riyadh for coming up and showcasing their support for both the players. However, she didn’t forget to mention Coco Gauff’s name while concluding her speech after the match. Speaking about Gauff’s win, she added, “Congrats to the champion. It’s your first title here. I wish you have a great future.”

Even Coco Gauff congratulated Qinwen Zheng for her incredible fight in this epic encounter. She highlighted, “You had a stellar season. Winning the gold medal and reaching so many finals. Hopefully, we can play many more finals together.” So far both these tennis stars have faced each other twice in their careers. Coco Gauff currently has a clear edge (2-0) in the H2H record. Can we see Zheng opening her account against Gauff in 2025?