Emma Navarro served strong words at the 2024 Olympics. 

After losing the match to reach the women’s tennis singles quarter-finals July 30, the USA player held nothing back when exchanging words with her winning opponent, China’s Zheng Qwinwen, during their game-concluding handshake. 

Following the three-hour game in Paris, Emma could be seen shaking her head as she spoke over the net to Zheng, who responded with a few curt nods. And the athletes continued their heated discussion as they made their way to the referee’s chair to shake his hand as well. 

Describing the tense interaction in a press conference that followed, Emma recalled, per Yahoo! Sport, “I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor.”

“I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way,” she continued. “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.”