Paris Olympics: USA’s Emma Navarro tells China’s Qinwen Zheng ‘I didn’t respect her as a competitor’ in post-match exchange
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USA’s Emma Navarro and China’s Qinwen Zheng exchanged words at the conclusion of their third-round Olympic tennis match Tuesday.
The exchange appeared cordial enough without the aid of audio. It turns out that Navarro shared candid words about her thoughts on Zheng after Zheng secured a tense three-set win. In short, Navarro doesn’t respect her.
Zheng clinched the 6-7 (7), 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory when Navarro hit wide on match point. Zheng triumphantly raised her arms in the air and let out a victory yell. She then walked to the net for a customary post-match handshake with Navarro.
Navarro held on to the handshake for a moment and spoke to Zheng. The two continued to talk as they walked to shake hands with the chair umpire.
Zheng then continued to celebrate with her fans, of whom there were many in the stands of the outer Court 7.
Navarro had a smile on her face, and there wasn’t any apparent tension during the exchange. Navarro explained otherwise in her post-match news conference.
“I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor,” Navarro said of the exchange, per AFP. “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.”
It’s not clear what Zheng has done or said to spark Navarro’s feelings of disrespect. Navarro didn’t expound on those feelings further in her news conference or go into specifics.
Zheng also addressed the exchange when speaking with reporters.
“She told me she doesn’t know how I have a lot of fans,” Zheng said. “It looks like she’s not happy with my behavior toward her.
“If she’s not happy about my behavior, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person.”
Zheng clarified that she wasn’t upset by Navarro’s words.
“I’m glad that she told me that,” Zheng continued. “I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match.”
Zheng advances to the quarterfinals, where she’ll face Germany’s Angelique Kerber on Wednesday. Navarro’s Olympics are done.
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