Zheng Qinwen withdrew from the Adelaide International on Thursday (January 4) due to an undisclosed injury. The World No. 14 had been hit on her playing hand by Iga Swiatek during her most recent singles outing at the 2024 United Cup — a coincidence that has amused a small section of tennis fans.
Earlier on Wednesday (January 3), Iga Swiatek took on Zheng Qinwen in her singles fixture for Team Poland at the United Cup in Perth. During the warm-up, she accidentally swatted a ball at her opponent. The Chinese was evidently miffed at being hit, following which she was captured on camera directing a few words towards the World No. 1.
Swiatek, meanwhile, apologized nonchalantly for accidentally hitting Qinwen before shrugging her shoulders. The altercation between the two top players seemingly irked tennis fans on social media, many of whom felt the Pole’s apology was not sincere.
https://x.com/GoatCaraz/status/1742586796372906369?s=20
Zheng Qinwen has since withdrawn from the WTA 500 event in Adelaide, casting a shadow over her prospects of doing well at the Australian Open. The above news set a rather humorous tone in the online tennis community, with a few fans suggesting that Iga Swiatek is to blame for the Chinese’s misfortune.
One fan joked on X that the World No. 1 would pay for taking Qinwen out of competition soon.
“Omg Iga will pay for her crimes,” they wrote.
https://x.com/jowiox/status/1742645473947853278?s=20
Another fan, meanwhile, hilariously insisted that the Chinese may even file a lawsuit against the Pole.
“She’s trying to get that lawsuit money!” they wrote.
https://x.com/riganails/status/1742801220761534667?s=20
Here are a few more reactions from X:
https://x.com/Some1NamedRyan/status/1742644284103500243?s=20
https://x.com/honeydeuceboozy/status/1742661876675117262?s=20
https://x.com/melanie_lautrup/status/1742643541115916749?s=20
https://x.com/PojdBase/status/1742644902226256223?s=20
https://x.com/TallFicus/status/1742656641642684613?s=20
https://x.com/ChowClammy/status/1742644690896269491?s=20
Zheng Qinwen looking to build on her breakout 2023 WTA tour season
Zheng Qinwen, meanwhile, put together a good season on the WTA tour last year. The 21-year-old compiled a 35-19 win/loss record, the highlights of which include winning two titles and reaching the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open.
She also beat the likes of Jelena Ostapenko and Donna Vekic en route to the final at the WTA Elite Trophy, where she lost to Beatriz Haddad Maia in two tiebreakers.
The Chinese has been playing some sharp tennis since breaking into the top 30 in 2022. Standing at 5’10”, the youngster hits big serves and powerful, deep groundstrokes, while also showing impressive movement on the court.
Zheng Qinwen had a good start to her 2023 season at this week’s United Cup, beating Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and Olga Danilovic to ensure Team China qualified for the quarterfinals.
She, however, lost against familiar foe Iga Swiatek for the fifth time in her career as Team Poland bundled Team China out by a scoreline of 3-0 to advance to the semifinals.
