"Zheng Qinwen didn't treat me with respect" - Emma Navarro continues criticism of Chinese ahead of potential Olympics rematch in US Open SF

Emma Navarro maintained her previous comments from her controversial handshake with Zheng Qinwen at the Paris Olympics ahead of a potential semifinal matchup with the Chinese at the 2024 US Open. The American said she felt disrespected by Qinwen during their match but refrained from going into too much detail.

Navarro has been in phenomenal form at Flushing Meadows ousting Anna Blinkova, Arantxa Rus, 19th seed Marta Kostyuk, and defending champion and third seed Coco Gauff to reach the quarterfinals. She came back from 1-5 down in the second set to defeat Paula Badosa 6-2, 7-5, and reach the semifinals of a Major for the first time.

Ahead of a potential semifinal matchup with Zheng Qinwen, who will face Aryna Sabalenka, Navarro was asked to comment on her controversial handshake with the Chinese after their third-round match at the Olympics. The American had lashed out at Qinwen following their match stating that she didn't respect her as a competitor.

Emma Navarro said that Zheng Qinwen was being a tad disrespectful towards her during that match, and on the practice courts and in their last few matches. She said that both of them have known each other since the junior days and claimed that the gold medalist didn't treat her or the sport with respect, but didn't want to go into too much detail.

“Yeah. I don't want to go super into the weeds with it, but I think during that match and, you know, 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. You know, I don't want to, like I said, go too into detail with it," Emma Navarro said at the press conference.

"But yeah, I think she didn't necessarily treat me or the sport with respect. That's why I said what I said after the match. But, yeah, that's it,” she added.

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"Even if I had won, I probably would have said the same thing" - Emma Navarro said that her comments had nothing to do with her defeat

Emma Navarro (Image Source: Getty)

Emma Navarro said that she wasn't surprised by her comments towards Zheng Qinwen and revealed that she would've done the same thing had she won the match. She said:

“No, I haven't spoken to her since. And, no, I didn't surprise myself. I felt that way the whole match. Even if I had won, I probably would have said the same thing. You know, it wasn't a sort of, in-the-moment emotional thing, it was just kind of how I felt."

Navarro added that she was surprised by the attention her comments had received, saying:

"I think it got a lot more attention than I thought it was going to. Yeah, I think, you know, maybe it's just one person's opinion. Yeah, it wasn't an emotional outburst. It was just kind of matter of factually how I felt."

Emma Navarro will be looking to make it back-to-back triumphs for Americans at the US Open. Sixth seed Jessica Pegula, another American, is also alive in the tournament and the two women could set up a potential all-American final.