"Emma Navarro's arrogance is painful"; "Entitled, spoiled": Fans slam American for 'sore loser comments' on Zheng Qinwen before potential US Open SF

Tennis fans recently criticized Emma Navarro for her remarks about Zheng Qinwen ahead of their potential semifinal match at the 2024 US Open. Making it to the final four is Navarro's best performance at Flushing Meadows and in any Grand Slam tournament to date.

Navarro is seeded 13th at the New York Major and began her journey by defeating Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-1 and Arantxa Rus 6-1, 6-1 in the first two rounds, respectively. She then emerged victorious over 19th seed Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the third round and defending champion Coco Gauff 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the fourth.

In the quarterfinals, the American defeated 26th seed Paula Badosa 6-2, 7-5, to secure her spot in the semifinals where she will face either second seed Aryna Sabalenka or seventh seed Zheng Qinwen.

During the post-match press conference, Emma Navarro was questioned about her remarks regarding Zheng being "cut-throat" and a player she does not respect following her loss to the Chinese in the third round of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In response, Navarro explained that she made those comments about the World No. 7 because she felt "disrespected" by her. She claimed that Zheng does not respect her or tennis.

“I think during that match and 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. I think she didn't necessarily treat me or the sport with respect. That's why I said what I said after the match,” Emma Navarro said.

Many tennis fans disagreed with Emma Navarro's comments about Zheng Qinwen and took to social media to voice their discontent. One user wrote:

"Her arrogance is painful."

Another fan criticized Navarro for coming across as "entitled," "privileged," and "spoiled," while another fan accused her of sounding like a "sore loser."

"I have never TRULY hated a tennis player ever, but this girl…omfg i have no words. Entitled, privileged, spoiled," a fan wrote.

"How tf did Qinwen disrespect tennis or even emma? You dont get to just say you made sore loser comments to bring her down during her glory moments because you "felt" disrespected without actually explaining said disrespectful actions," a fan wrote.

"Yall hear something," one account posted.

A fan labelled Emma Navarro as a "racist" for her comments against Zheng Qinwen.

"This lady is just an entitled racist freak," a fan posted.

One fan even argued that it was unreasonable to accuse Zheng of being disrespectful, as anyone who had watched the Olympic Games' third-round match between them would agree that the Chinese had not done anything wrong or disrespectful.

"It’s actually shocking to accuse someone of being disrespectful to the SPORT because she did everything she can to fight in every match. Also absurd when she says Qinwen didn’t respect her during the match while everyone watched the match can testify that Qinwen did nothing," a fan posted.

"Let me summarize her statement: “I’m a white wealthy American woman, and I can’t (nor won’t) expand my understanding to recognize other cultures, races and ethnicities, may act differently than what I deem to be correct, or respectful”," another tweeted.

Emma Navarro trails Zheng Qinwen 0-2 in head-to-head record

Emma Navarro [Source: Getty]

Emma Navarro has faced Zheng Qinwen twice on the WTA tour. Their first encounter took place in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Palermo Ladies Open, where the latter won 6-4, 6-2 and then went on to claim the title by defeating Jasmine Paolini in the final.

The two players met again in the third round of the 2024 Paris Olympics, with World No. 7 winning 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-1. She later went on to win the gold medal by defeating Donna Vekic in the final.