Tennis Controversies of the Week: Emma Navarro and Zheng Qinwen in hot water again at US Open; Calls for sacking Nick Kyrgios after remark on champion Jannik Sinner's girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya, and more
Emma Navarro stirred controversy by refusing to back down from Zheng Qinwen's criticism at the 2024 US Open. In other news, Zheng Qinwen faced backlash for her cold handshake with Aryna Sabalenka following the US Open quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios received criticism for his seemingly derogatory comment about Jannik Sinner's girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya. Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert slammed for his "English-speaking player" remark at the New York Major.
Also, Chris Evert and John McEnroe sparked outrage for their US Open commentary. The US Open received backlash for the late-night scheduling of Zheng Qinwen-Donna Vekic's Round-of-16 match at Flushing Meadows.
On that note, here's a recap of the top controversies from last week:
Emma Navarro faces backlash after defending her criticism of Zheng Qinwen
Emma Navarro reiterated her previous comments about Zheng Qinwen, which originated from their heated third-round match at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Zheng won the match 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-1 before going on to secure the gold medal. Their match ended with a tense handshake and a brief exchange at the net.
In a post-match press conference, Navarro said she had no respect for Zheng as a competitor, criticizing her "cut-throat" behavior for creating a lack of camaraderie in the locker room. In response, Zheng acknowledged Navarro's criticism, expressing a willingness to listen and grow both as a player and a person, while clarifying that she didn’t take the remarks as a personal insult.
When asked about the Olympic match at the recently concluded US Open, Navarro mentioned feeling disrespected by Zheng during their encounter but declined to provide further details.
“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," Emma Navarro said.
"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,” she added.
Tennis fans took to social media to voice their discontent with Navarro's comments about Zheng Qinwen.
Both seventh seed Zheng Qinwen and 13th seed Navarro lost to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal and semifinal, respectively.
Zheng Qinwen criticized for frosty handshake with Aryna Sabalenka after US Open QF loss
Zheng Qinwen received backlash for sharing a frosty handshake with second seed Aryna Sabalenka at the net following the former's US Open quarterfinal loss.
In a rematch of this year's Australian Open final, Sabalenka secured a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win, marking her fourth consecutive semifinal appearance at the New York Major. Frustrated by the one-sided defeat, seventh seed Zheng appeared to offer a cold gesture during the post-match handshake.
Check out the pictures here:
Nick Kyrgios receives flak for his comment about Jannik Sinner's girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya
Nick Kyrgios landed in hot water after allegedly making a derogatory comment about Jannik Sinner's girlfriend, Anna Kalinskaya.
Currently working as part of ESPN's broadcast team for the 2024 US Open, Kyrgios has been vocal in his criticism of Sinner following the Italian's positive test for a banned substance earlier this year.
Recently, he stirred more controversy by creating a poll on X, asking his followers to predict whether Sinner or Taylor Fritz would win the upcoming US Open men's singles final. A fan, in a now-deleted tweet, shared a photo of Kyrgios with his former girlfriend Kalinskaya. In response, Kyrgios made a seemingly derogatory comment about the Russian.
"Second serve," he wrote.
Many tennis fans took to social media and called for ESPN to suspend Kyrgios. Fans also criticized WTA players Caroline Garcia and Naomi Osaka for associating with the Aussie amid the controversy. Garcia received pushback for inviting Kyrgios to her podcast 'Tennis Insider Club', meanwhile, Osaka caught heat for not dismissing the Australian from her talent agency Evolve.
Top seed Jannik Sinner won his second Grand Slam by defeating 12th seed and home favorite Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the final. 15th seed Anna Kalinskaya, on the other hand, wrapped up her campaign with a 3-6, 1-6 loss to 22nd seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Coco Gauff's coach slammed for seemingly "xenophobic" remark at US Open
Coco Gauff's coach, Brad Gilbert, stirred controversy with his comments, stating that it was nice to have four English-speaking players (Alex de Minaur, Jack Draper, Frances Tiafoe, and Taylor Fritz) remaining in the men's draw, excluding Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, during the 2024 US Open quarterfinals and semifinals.
Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg criticized Gilbert’s remarks on social media.
"Nice that we’ve got four English speakers in the quarters and semis!" Gilbert said before Draper's win over de Minaur, according to tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg.
Fans reacted strongly, labeling Gilbert's comment as "xenophobic" and expressed their frustration on social media platforms.
Chris Evert and John McEnroe called out for their US Open commentary
Chris Evert and John McEnroe have faced frequent criticism for their commentary during the 2024 US Open. McEnroe received backlash for repeatedly bringing up Jannik Sinner’s doping controversy during the Italian’s first-round match.
Meanwhile, Evert drew controversy for comparing Karolina Muchova's playing style to that of a male player, and her comments on Naomi Osaka's custom outfit were deemed "racist."
Additionally, the 18-time Major champion was accused of showing "bias" toward Coco Gauff during her fourth-round loss, praising Sabalenka's semifinal win over Emma Navarro as the best women's match of the tournament, and predicting that Sabalenka would eventually become World No. 1.
Many fans took to social media to demand the removal of both Evert and McEnroe from the broadcasting team.
US Open faces criticism over the late-night start to Zheng Qinwen-Donna Vekic's 4R match
The US Open faced criticism for scheduling Zheng Qinwen and Donna Vekic's fourth-round match late at night.
The match, held at Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 1, was delayed due to the full-length daytime matches between Grigor Dimitrov and Andrey Rublev, as well as Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro. As the last match of the night session, Zheng and Vekic didn't take the court until nearly 11:30 PM, following Frances Tiafoe's four-set victory over Alexei Popyrin.
Their match concluded at 2:15 AM on Tuesday, with Zheng winning 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2 after 2 hours and 50 minutes, marking the latest finish for a WTA match in US Open history.