"Iga Swiatek will pay for her crimes" "Get that lawsuit money" - Zheng Qinwen's Adelaide withdrawal a day after incident with Pole amuses fans

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 section of tennis fans.

On Wednesday, January 3, Iga Swiatek took on Zheng Qinwen in the singles fixture at the United Cup in Perth. During the warm-up, however, Swiatek accidentally swatted a ball at her opponent. The Chinese was seemingly miffed at being hit, and she was captured on camera directing a few words towards the World No. 1.

Swiatek quickly apologized for accidentally hitting Zheng before shrugging her shoulders. The incident between the two top players seemingly irked tennis fans on social media, many of whom felt the Pole's apology was not sincere.

Zheng Qinwen has since withdrawn from the WTA 500 event in Adelaide, casting a shadow over her prospects at the Australian Open. That news inspired a lot of reactions in the online tennis community, with a few fans suggesting that Iga Swiatek was to blame for the Chinese's misfortune.

One fan joked on X that the World No. 1 would pay for taking Zheng out of commission.

"Omg Iga will pay for her crimes," they wrote.

Another fan, meanwhile, hilariously said that the Chinese may even file a lawsuit against the Pole.

"She’s trying to get that lawsuit money!" they wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from X:

Zheng Qinwen looking to build on her breakout 2023 WTA tour season

Zheng Qinwen made her maiden Major quarterfinals at the 2023 US Open

Zheng Qinwen 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 were 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", Zheng has a big serve and powerful, deep groundstrokes, accompanied by some 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.