Emma Navarro could potentially face Qinwen Zheng at the 2024 US Open. They had a tense encounter at the Paris Olympics earlier this year.
Navarro and Zheng met during the Paris Olympics, where Zheng emerged victorious. The Chinese player went on to win the gold medal, but Navarro had some words for her after their match.
Without going into specifics, Navarro mentioned that she expressed her lack of respect towards Zheng following their match. This was uncharacteristic of Navarro, known for not frequently engaging in such situations.
Reflecting on her recent win at the US Open over Paula Badosa, Navarro was questioned again about the incident, considering she could face Zheng if she defeats Aryna Sabalenka.
Once more, Navarro refrained from delving into details but expressed feeling disrespected by Zheng, emphasizing that it wasn’t the first occurrence of such behavior.
“Yeah. I don’t want to go super into the weeds with it, but I think during that match and, you know, on the practice court and the last few times l’ve played her, because we have been playing each other since we were juniors, I felt just a little bit disrespected by her. You know, I don’t want to, like I said, go too into detail with it.”
“But yeah, I think she didn’t necessarily treat me or the sport with respect. That’s why I said what I said after the match. But, yeah, that’s it.”
Navarro appears to still harbor emotions regarding the situation. While Zheng isn’t generally associated with controversies, this incident stood out to Navarro, who vocalized her feelings at the moment.
The confrontation didn’t seem impulsive to Navarro, suggesting she would have expressed the same sentiments even if she had won the match. She expressed herself genuinely in the heat of the moment.
“No, I haven’t spoken to her since. And, no, I didn’t surprise myself. I felt that way the whole match. Even if I had won, I probably would have said the same thing.”
“You know, it wasn’t a sort of, in-the-moment emotional thing, it was just kind of how I felt. I think it got a lot more attention than I thought it was going to.”
An anticipated rematch between Navarro and Zheng would be intriguing, particularly considering the potential crowd dynamics at play. The New York crowd is known for its passionate support and could add intensity to the match.
The match could turn into an emotionally charged affair, although Sabalenka, aiming for a spot in the semi-finals, might have different plans.
