Zheng Qinwen earns "new Maria Sharapova" tag from tennis insider after candidly explaining her decision to avoid friendships with other WTA players

Tennis journalist Jose Morgado likened Zheng Qinwen to Maria Sharapova after the 22-year-old opened up about not making friends on tour. Zheng recently explained why she has made the conscious decision to keep her distance from her competitors.

Months after Emma Navarro described Zheng as "cut-throat" and accused her of creating a "locker room that doesn't have a lot of camaraderie," the 22-year-old shared that she preferred to hold her fellow players at arm's length.

Speaking in a pre-tournament press conference at the 2024 WTA Finals, Zheng Qinwen said that her preference stemmed from her "sensitive heart," adding that she wouldn't be able to display her competitive and fighting spirit if she had to compete against a friend. Zheng said:

"My answer is very clear: I prefer always keep the distance with the player. Has a lot of competition with me. I am, like, type of sensitive with the heart. I don't feel if I become friend with someone and I have to compete with them on court, I feel I'm not able 100% focus and fighting."

"When I have to scream, 'C'mon!,' I'm not able to do that because I will feel a bit weird. In my heart, I feel if it's a friend, I really want she win or she feel good in her life."

The 22-year-old further emphasized her decision not to make friends on tour, expressing her desire to maintain purely competitive relationships with her fellow players while reserving her friendships for life outside the tennis world.

"This is opposite side than the tennis tournament. Once I figure out that, I decided don't try to make a friend on tour because there's so many people outside of tennis world. Why I have to just make friends here? I come here to compete with them, to win the match. Yeah, that's my opinion."

Following this, as Zheng's comments were shaeed on social media, tennis journalist Jose Morgado deemed the World No. 7 the second coming of Maria Sharapova. Morgado said on X (formerly Twitter):

"The new Sharapova!!"

---

"I don't hang around in the locker room, it's my least favorite place" - Echoing Zheng Qinwen's view, Maria Sharapova once spoke about about not having friends on tour

Maria Sharapova (Source: Getty)

Tennis journalist Jose Morgado's comparison holds up, as Maria Sharapova expressed similar sentiments to Zheng Qinwen during her playing days. In a 2011 interview, the Russian emphasized the difficulty of forming close friendships on tour, disclosing that she would find it challenging to go from dining with a rival to facing them on the court.

"It's tough to have really good friends on the tour. I find it difficult to be having dinner with someone one night and then having to play them two days later because it is at the end of the day an individual sport and we are all very competitive. It's typical in sport to try to beat each other," Maria Sharapova said (via Tennis.com).

Maria Sharapova also disclosed that she avoided spending too much time with other players in the locker, describing it as her "least favorite place in the world." The former World No. 1 felt that it was in her "best interests" to simply do her job and live her life away from tournament venues.

"You know we are not on a team and as far as really close friends goes, I have my family who come with me on the road. I don't hang around in the locker room—it's my least favorite place in the world. I do my job at the site, I play matches do what I have to do and live my world away from the site and don't talk tennis all day. It's not in my best interests."

In on-court matters, Zheng Qinwen will kick off her WTA Finals campaign against Aryna Sabalenka on November 2. Drawn in the Purple Group, the Chinese will also lock horns with Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina in the round-robin stage at the year-end championships.