Olympics tennis star tells opponent 'I don't respect you' sparking heating war of words

Emma Navarro blasted China's Zheng Qinwen after her disheartening loss at the 2024 Olympics on Tuesday, criticising her for a lack of respect following her third-round departure in the women's tennis singles. The Wimbledon juniors champion was a match point up before ultimately falling to Zheng in three gripping sets.

Navarro clinched the first set on a tight tiebreaker 7-6 (9-7) and surged ahead with a seemingly commanding 5-3 lead in the second, poised for a spot in the quarter-finals.

However, Qinwen, buoyed by a vociferous Chinese crowd on the teeming confines of Court Seven, mounted a remarkable comeback, snatching the second set 7-6 with a decisive 7-4 in the tie-break.

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Then, the world number seven thundered through the final set 6-1 to set up a last-eight faceoff with former world number one Angelique Kerber, who intends to hang up her racquet post-Paris.

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The mercury soared to the mid-thirties above the storied Roland Garros dust, and so did tempers, as Navarro unleashed her frustrations in the aftermath of the intense three-hour battle.

The 23-year-old American fired a verbal volley at Qinwen, questioning her sportsmanship and accusing Zheng of unsportsmanlike conduct on the court.

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"I just told her I didn't respect her as a competitor. I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way," Navarro disclosed.

"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."

Qinwen later responded to Navarro's post-match remarks, clarifying that she didn't take her words as an attack, considering the situation.

She remarked: "She told me she doesn't know how I have a lot of fans. It looks like she's not happy with my behaviour towards her. f she's not happy about my behaviour, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person."

"I'm glad that she told me that. I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match."

Danielle Collins, another American talent, has made it to the quarter-finals and is set to play against either world No. 1 Iga Swiatek from Poland or China's Wang Xiyu.

Coco Gauff, the top-ranked American, also experienced a tough third-round exit, losing in straight sets to Croatia's Donna Vekic, which included a tearful dispute with the umpire.