Tennis courts may be arenas of skill, but they are also hotbeds for off-court drama! And this year’s WTA Finals have turned out to be no exception, even before it officially kicked off. The latest buzz? All eyes are on American sensation Coco Gauff, who fired back in style after a fan accused her of snubbing the Chinese star Qinwen Zheng on social media. 

The American sensation will begin her campaign at the WTA Finals on Sunday, November 3, and will take on Jessica Pegula in the first match. But it seems like controversy is already simmering around her even before the tournament has actually started over accusations that she did not give enough attention to the Chinese star Qinwen Zheng. 

Gauff took to her Instagram account and shared a string of pictures from Riyadh, where can be seen dressed in beautiful attire. In one of the pictures, she was standing with all the other 7 players, participating in the tournament, as they posed for the camera. While Gauff ensured to tag every player in her post, she missed on Zheng and this quickly captured the attention of many fans. 

Highlighting the same, a user commented, “Bro didn’t tag qinwen in the group pic.” But Gauff did not seem to fuel any speculations and was quick to clap back at the user. Clarifying that she tried to tag Zheng as well, Gauff responded, “her account settings doesn’t allow me to tag her.” Now, this comes at a time when the Chinese star’s take on friendship on the courts is raising some eyebrows. 

For the unversed, when quizzed about her bond with other players in the WTA finals, Zheng shared a surprising response. Speaking in the pre-tournament presser, she said, “I prefer always keep the distance with the player. Has a lot of competition with me. I don’t feel if I become friend with someone and I have to compete with them on court, I feel I’m not able to 100% focus and fighting.” Continuing further, she set her priorities straight and questioned, “Why I have to just make friends here? I come here to compete with them, to win the match.” Remember, Zheng shares an old record of controversies against opponents on the courts.

One such scenario came to light at the Paris Olympics when Emma Navarro engaged in a tussle with the Chinese WTA star. “I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor,” Navarro said after she lost to Zheng at the Olympics. “I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way.” Coming back to Gauff and Zheng, the players might not have anything against each other. But do you know that both the players have partnered with the same coach at different times, upon whom Zheng would be relying for a victory at the WTA finals?

Why is Coco Gauff’s former coach getting credit for transforming Qinwen Zheng’s skills?

Qinwen Zheng is on a sensational rise this season. After advancing to the finals of the Australian Open, she successfully clinched the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, proving that she is here to stay. A major reason, meanwhile, behind her latest success is her coach Pere Riba, who also helped Coco Gauff immensely at one point in her career. 

Zheng and Riba joined forces in 2021 and the coach played a crucial role in Zheng’s gradual and steady rise. However, they parted ways in 2023 after the French Open, following which the Spanish coach joined Coco Gauff. This partnership also helped the American player to clinch the title at the US Open last year. However, Gauff also ended her partnership with Riba soon, thereby giving an opportunity to Zheng to reunite with the Spanish coach. The bond between Zheng and Riba was also lauded by former pro-Pam Shriver in an interview with the Tennis Channel Inside-In Podcast on October 31st.

Speaking in the interview, Shriver said, “Pere Riba was a great coaching match that she was reunited with. I think he’s turning into quite the coach.” Now, with the WTA finals soon set to unfold, it would be interesting to see if Coco Gauff’s former coach can help Zheng again win a title. Besides, it would also be interesting to see if more accusations or exchanges take place between both players at the tournament.