"European tournament being racially insensitive?" - Fans aghast as Italian Open uses 'Mulan' reference for Zhang Zhizhen's 3R win over Ben Shelton

Tennis fans have expressed outrage over the Italian Open commemorating Zhang Zhizhen's third-round victory over Ben Shelton with a reference to the animated Disney film Mulan, which is based on a Chinese legend. Given Zhang's Chinese nationality, many found the reference to be inappropriate.

Zhang commenced his campaign in Rome with a commanding 6-2, 7-5 win over Daniel Elahi Galan. He then defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-3 to set the stage for an exciting clash with Shelton in the third round.

The 27-year-old delivered an impressive performance against Shelton, securing a dominant 6-2, 6-4 victory in 71 minutes to reach the fourth round of a Masters 1000 event for the third time in his career.

The social media handle for the Italian Open commemorated Zhang Zhizhen's stellar performance with a gif featuring the character Li Shang from Mulan showing off his martial arts skills.

Tennis fans didn't take kindly to the pointed reference to Zhang's Chinese nationality, suggesting that it had "racially insensitive" implications.

"Stick to LIVE PHOTOS . . . the GIF is . . . INAPPROPRIATE AND CORNY," one fan commented.

"This has got to be racist," a fan wrote.

"Italians never beating the allegations...," another fan chimed in.

"A European based tennis tournament being racially insensitive? I never woulda guessed…," said another.

One user expressed shock that the Italian Open chose to leave the post up despite the backlash.

"This is still up?" the user posted.

Fans continued to express their disbelief over the tournament's decision to use the Mulan reference.

"Just like stretching the tournament to two weeks, this GIF selection was probably not a good choice," one fan shared.

"I can’t believe this is a real post….🥴," said another.

"Oh that's not...," another fan posted alongside a picture of Venus Williams looking unimpressed.

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Zhang Zhizhen to take on Thiago Monteiro in Italian Open 4R

Zhang Zhizhen

Following his win over Ben Shelton, Zhang Zhizhen will take on Thiago Monteiro in the fourth round of the 2024 Italian Open, marking their first encounter on the ATP tour.

Monteiro began his campaign with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Gael Monfils. He triumphed over Jordan Thompson in dominant fashion in the second round, winning 6-1, 6-3. The Brazilian edged past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(6) to set up a fourth-round clash with Zhang.

If Zhang emerges victorious against Monteiro, he will take on the winner of the match between Alejandro Tabilo and Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.