"Always given mean girl vibes";"Olympics loss still stings" - Fans slam Donna Vekic for 'fueling hate' towards Zheng Qinwen with controversial 'like'
Donna Vekic has come under fire for seemingly endorsing a post suggesting that Zheng Qinwen is disliked by her fellow players. Fans lambasted Vekic for attaching her name to the controversial claim without providing any justification for her apparent hostility towards the Chinese.
Zheng recently stirred controversy with her frosty net exchange with Mirra Andreeva after beating the teenager 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the 2024 China Open. The discourse intensified after the World No. 7 revealed that she wasn't paying attention to Andreeva's tears during the contest, as she was focused on her own game.
Given Emma Navarro's earlier criticism of Zheng Qinwen's "cut-throat" behavior, one user claimed that the recent controversy further validated why the 21-year-old was disliked in the locker room.
"Not surprising why players in the locker room don't like her," the fan posted.
Donna Vekic appeared to show her support for the user's sentiments about Zheng by liking the post on X.
The Croatian faced backlash for liking the controversial post, as fans accused her of having "mean girl vibes" and "fueling hate" towards Zheng Qinwen.
"Idk about others but vekic has always given me mean girl vibes. her likes used to be so messy…it’s giving drunk auntie who has way too much free time on her hands," one fan commented.
"Why is @DonnaVekic so damn salty. Qinwen beat her at the Olympics and prevented her from getting Gold. Then she beat her at the US Open. Hopefully she can get over it instead of liking a post that is spreading misinformation and fuelling gossip & hate," another fan chimed in.
"Donna Vekic: Doing this on social media is bullying. Actually this behavior speaks more against you than against Quinwen. YOU have a terrible character!" a fan wrote.
"You're 28 years old. tell her to her face instead of liking posts on twitter, this is embarrassing," said yet another.
Others contended that Vekic was simply "bitter" over her consecutive losses to the Chinese in the Paris Olympics final and the fourth round of the US Open.
"Vekic still salty about back to back defeat in olympic final & USO?" a fan remarked.
"Donna is just bitter," another fan wrote.
"Olympics loss still stings I see," said another.
Several fans also argued that all the complaints about Zheng Qinwen's behavior boiled down to "vague claims of bad vibes" rather than players providing concrete reasons for disliking her.
"Im sure there is a reason why everyone seems to dislike her, but until one of these women has the balls to come out and flatly say it, I don’t care. Im not gonna route against someone because of vague claims of bad vibes," one fan posted.
"I agree, I'm sorry but I don't understand what Qinwen could possibly be doing to them in the locker room, these are grown women! Her on court persona doesn't really align to the villain rhetoric. She seems like she just plays her tennis and doesn't pay these girls any mind - and there's nothing wrong with that," another fan chimed in.
"There are also a lot of controversial stories about Zheng Qinwen" - Donna Vekic on cold handshake with Chinese after Paris Olympics final loss
Donna Vekic's apparent hostility towards Zheng Qinwen began after her crushing 6-2, 6-3 loss in the Paris Olympics final, when she offered a frosty handshake to the Chinese.
Vekic revealed the reasons behind the cold exchange in an interview with Croatian publication Jutarnji, disclosing that her ire stemmed from Zheng taking "completely incorrect" timeouts and constantly delaying her serve.
The Croatian also suggested that there were many "controversial stories" about the World No. 7, but shied away from going into detail.
"She (Zheng Qinwen) kept delaying the service. As soon as someone's voice was heard or someone moved in the audience. She took time-outs completely incorrectly. We cannot expect spectators to sit like statues. There are also a lot of controversial stories about her, but I won't talk about that now," she said.
Donna Vekic and Zheng Qinwen will both be in action at the Wuhan Open next. Following a first-round bye, Zheng will lock horns with Camila Osorio or Jaqueline Cristian in her opening match at the WTA 1000 event. Meanwhile, Vekic will square off against Elise Mertens in the first round.