Tennis fans were displeased with Zheng Qinwen’s frosty handshake with Aryna Sabalenka following their quarterfinal match at the 2024 US Open. A number of them contended that Zheng’s actions support Emma Navarro’s contentious claims regarding the rudeness of the Chinese people.
After a few hours, Zheng took Sabalenka to court, everyone was still thinking about Emma Navarro’s remarks. The world No. 2 defeated the opponent 6-1, 6-2 in a rematch of the Australian Open final this year, securing his spot in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the fourth consecutive year.
Zheng shook hands with Sabalenka quickly and grimly, not even looking at the Belarusian, looking upset about her heartbreaking defeat.
Sabalenka responded with a cheeky expression that was clearly visible on camera when Zheng gave the Belarusian player the cold shoulder during their customary handshake, as captured in a video that was posted on X. As expected, the 26-year-old responded to the situation, but remarkably, she remained calm and continued to enjoy her victory.
Sabalenka six times a hard court semifinalist! pic.twitter.com/M7EXHIOnfm
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2024
https://t.co/UHovMz0jmt pic.twitter.com/CeAeXMMU8u
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 4, 2024
Sabalenka at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2024
LLWWWWWWWL Currently the world no.2, Sabalenka has a composed 44-11 match record in 2024. Sabalenka is now competing at the U.S. Open where she conquered the world no.203 Priscilla Hon 6-3 6-3, the world no.76 Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-1, the world no.31 Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6 6-1 6-2, the world no.35 Elise Mertens 6-2 6-4 and the world no.7 Qinwen Zheng 6-1 6-2.
Aryna Sabalenka will fight against the world no.318 Petra Kvitova in the final on Saturday at 6:00 pm on CENTRE COURT. Their current record is 3-2 for Kvitova.
Sabalenka conquered 2 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open and Cincinnati. The Belarussian was the runner-up in Brisbane (Brisbane International), in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) and in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia).
Aryna won 15 titles in her career: 11 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Qinwen Zheng in 2024
Now the world no.7 (career-high), Zheng played her last match on the 3rd of September when she was defeated by world no.2 Aryna Sabalenka 6-1 6-2 in the quarter of the U.S. Open (draw).
At the moment, during this season Zheng owns an overall 37-14 match record. Zheng has won 2 titles in 2024 in Palermo and Paris. Qinwen got to the final at the Australian Open.
Qinwen Zheng will compete against the world no.219 Alice Tubello in the quarter. They have never competed against each other until now in top events.
The Chinese has won 2 titles in 2024 in Palermo and Paris. Qinwen was the runner-up at the Australian Open.
Qinwen won 4 titles in her career: 1 on hard courts and 3 on clay courts. (See the list of her titles)
Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng fought against each other 3 times. Their actual head to head record is 3-0 for Sabalenka. Before, the last time they squared off, Aryna Sabalenka won 6-1 6-2 in the quarter in New York (U.S. Open) on the 3rd of September 2024.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
