Emma Navarro has no regrets over brutally calling out Zheng Qinwen following their Paris Olympics match as the American tennis star highlights she meant what she said and it definitely wasn’t something that was an impulsive reaction.
In her Olympic debut, the 23-year-old made it past her opening two rounds before suffering a tight 7-6 (7) 6-7 (4) 1-6 round-of-16 loss to this year’s Australian Open finalist.
Moments after the match ended, the 12th-ranked American was seen saying something to the 21-year-old Chinese. And since it was clear that Zheng was a bit stunned, it was evident that it wasn’t something pleasant. Asked about it in her post-match presser, Navarro bluntly said she “did not respect” the world No. 7.
“I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor… 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,” the American said in Paris.
On Tuesday, the No. 13 seed defeated Paula Badosa 6-2 7-5 to progress into the US Open semifinal. Since she was awaiting the winner of the match between Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng, the 23-year-old was asked about their dramatic Olympic moment.
“Yeah. I don’t want to go…
