Video of Zheng Qinwen slamming US Open crowd member after allegedly being subjected to racial slur goes viral

A video of Zheng Qinwen slamming a crowd member after she was allegedly subjected to a racial slur has gone viral on social media. The incident occurred during her fourth-round match against Donna Vekic at the 2024 US Open.

According to Chinese media, Zheng was allegedly subjected to a racist attack and she engaged in a war of words with a member of the crowd. Watch the video below:

The video went viral on X (formerly Twitter), garnering 170,000+ views and more than 2,700 likes. Some fans claimed that Zheng was chatting with her coach when the video was filmed.

However, some fans alleged that a member of the crowd was racially abusing her and that person was also given a warning by the umpire.

Zheng Qinwen's US Open campaign ended in the quarterfinals after she lost to World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. This was her second successive quarterfinal appearance at the Major, losing to the Belarusian in the last eight in 2023 as well.

At the 2024 US Open, Zheng defeated Amanda Anisimova and Erika Andreeva in the first and second rounds respectively. She then got the better of Jule Niemeier in the third round and Donna Vekic in the fourth round to reach the quarterfinal where she was defeated by Sabalenka 1-6, 2-6.

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The Zheng Qinwen-Emma Navarro controversy resurfaced at the 2024 US Open

Zheng Qinwen- Emma Navarro controversy stems from their match at the Paris Olympics 2024 (Image: Getty)

Zheng Qinwen and Emma Navarro were at the center of a controversy at the Paris Olympics 2024. The Chinese player defeated Navarro in a close three-set encounter in the third round. After the match, the duo shared a 'cold' handshake and exchanged a few words.

The American later revealed what she said to Zheng. Navarro said in the post-match press conference:

"I just told her I didn't respect her as a competitor. I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way. It makes for a locker room that doesn't have a lot of camaraderie, so it's tough to face an opponent like that, who I really don't respect."

Zheng also commented on the incident during her press conference.

"She told me she doesn't know how I have a lot of fans. It looks like she's not happy with my behavior towards her. If she's not happy about my behavior, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person," Zheng said.

At the 2024 US Open, Navarro revealed further details about the rift during a press conference. She said she felt disrespected by Zheng during their matches.

“Yeah, I think during that match and, you know, on the practice court and the last few times I've played her, because we have been playing each other since we were juniors, I felt just a little bit disrespected by her," she said.

Emma Navarro will next play against Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal at the US Open while Zheng Qinwen will focus on the Asian swing.