"What an a**hole" - Fans slam Andy Roddick's 'rude' jibe backing Chris Evert's 'nasty takedown' of mispronunciation concerns about Zheng Qinwen's name

Andy Roddick has stirred controversy by taking a dig at a user who raised concerns about the mispronounciation Zheng Qinwen's name, only to receive a dismissive clarification from Chris Evert. Roddick's jibe was not well-received by tennis fans, who argued that it was an unwarranted overreaction to a reasonable comment.

Zheng's campaign at the 2024 US Open ended in the quarterfinals, as she suffered a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Aryna Sabalenka. Following the match, a user raised concerns about ESPN commentators Cliff Drysdale, Mary Joe Fernandez and Pam Shriver mispronouncing the World No. 7's name as 'Kinwen' instead of the correct Mandarin pronunciation 'Chinwen.'

"Hey @espn , please let Mr Drysdale, Ms Fernandez and Ms Shriver know that Qinwen is pronounced as ‘Chinwen’ (closest to the mandarin pronunciation). Not ‘Kinwen’. Please and thank you," the user posted on X.

However, Chris Evert, who is also a commentator at the US Open, clarified that Zheng had provided them with the pronunciation personally.

"We actually asked her directly, and she gave us that pronunciation!" Chris Evert responded.

Evert's response caught the attention of Andy Roddick, who jokingly questioned whether she had sought the user's opinion before adhering to the pronunciation Zheng had told them to use.

"Yes, but did you ask Ratazana on Twitter before committing to what Qinwen told you to call her?" Roddick commented.

However, Roddick's jest did not go down well with fans, with many of them lambasting the former World No. 1 for supporting Chris Evert's "nasty takedown" of a native speaker's well-meaning concerns.

"Who pissed in Roddick’s cheerios? No reason to double down on a nasty takedown of a well-meaning comment like that. What an a**hole," one fan commented.

"This is unbelievably rude for no reason? He was just trying to educate y'all how to pronounce it correctly, but here y'all go being an a**hole about it. This is why I hate watering down ethnic names for Western comfort. Y'all get too comfortable and cocky," another fan chimed in.

"This is such a rude comment towards a person whose message was nothing but polite and who's a native mandarin speaker...," said another.

Several fans also pointed out that players often have to anglicize their ethnic names for English speakers and argued that a native speaker's feedback deserved more respect.

"As someone who has dumbed down her name for Western pronunciation — it makes sense that Chrissie would say Qinwen’s name the way she was told. But if someone pronounced my name correctly, I’d still be flattered? It means they tried? Please talk to an Asian person in real life," one fan posted.

"Also it’s not the players’ fault but this crap is why when asked for pronunciation players should give the actual, not one adjusted for English speakers," a fan wrote.

"Even if qinwen gave u the correct pronunciation u whites wouldn't even use it 🧍🏻‍♀️ thats why its so common for ppl to "westernize" their ethnic names," another fan chimed in.

"Ppl with foreign names always dumb down their pronunciation for others and settle for a mispronunciation. swiatek got plenty of criticism bc she insisted on her name being pronounced the right way, some ppl don't wanna bother but it's still nice," said yet another.

Chris Evert faced backlash for her controversial 'plays like a guy' remark about Karolina Muchova at US Open

Chris Evert and Karolina Muchova (Source: Getty)

Chris Evert has been embroiled in several controversies due to her commentary at the 2024 US Open. The American copped criticism for her "spiteful" remarks about Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff and was also accused of being "painfully biased" towards Gauff during her loss to Emma Navarro in the fourth round.

Another controversy emerged when Evert praised Karolina Muchova by saying she "plays like a guy." The 18-time Grand Slam champion's remark was not well received by the tennis community, fans and players alike.

Ons Jabeur criticized Chris Evert for "stereotyping based on gender," arguing that Muchova's impressive skills were not exclusive to male players.

"Muchova is an amazing talented player . She doesn’t have to be a guy to have great serve, volley or movement. Can we please stop stereotyping based on gender?" Jabeur posted on X.

After being chastised by Jabeur, Chris Evert issued an apology to the Tunisian and Muchova for causing any intended offense, admitting that her "delivery could've been better."