Zheng Qinwen's heated interaction with ball kid at Charleston leaves fans furious: "It's ok until you are not Iga Swiatek"

Zheng Qinwen throwing a ball in anger during her quarterfinal match at the 2025 Charleston Open has started discussions among tennis fans. While many have called out Qinwen's behavior, others have questioned how the tennis fraternity would have reacted if this had been Iga Swiatek.

Qinwen kicked off her clay swing at the Charleston Open, where she was seeded third. The Chinese had a great start to the event, ousting Maria Sakkari comfortably and following it up with a three-set win over 13th-seeded Elise Mertens. Her run ended with her quarterfinal clash with ninth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, which she lost 1-6, 4-6.

During her match against Mertens, Zheng Qinwen, who already had a ball in her pocket and two on her racket, was thrown another ball. The Chinese player was initially unaware but managed to catch it in time thanks to her reflexes. However, this seemed to irk Qinwen, who threw the ball in anger.

Fans, especially Iga Swiatek's, were angered by the 22-year-old's behavior and expressed their opinion on social media. One fan said,

"It's ok until you are not Iga."

Another fan questioned,

"Where's the outrage? If this was Iga..."

Here are some other reactions from tennis fans.

"This behaviour isn’t what Dior expects of their brand ambassador," a fan quipped.

"No one talks about this? where are you „joirnslists”? Double standards," a fan asked.

"She shouldn't react like this, but why is the ball kid throwing a ball to her when she is not even looking at him and she already has 3 balls. It's the player who nod to the ball kids to pass the ball or not. The ball kid should be reprimanded but in a civilised way...," a fan opined.

"Imagine if this befell Iga. It would be a global incident, and all the tennis vloggers would be cashing in on it for clicks. Iga's quiet personality has turned her into a soft target.," a fan highlighted.

However, Qinwen had calmed down by the end of the match.

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"If there is no support, I think I'm dead" - Zheng Qinwen after her win against Elise Mertens

Zheng Qinwen - Source: Getty

Zheng Qinwen and Elise Mertens engaged in a thrilling topsy-turvy battle, which ended up with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win in the Chinese's favor. And though the aforementioned incident with the ball kid may have irked her anger in the tense match, Qinwen seemed to have calmed down by the end of it.

During her on-court interview, the 22-year-old was all smiles and thanked the crowd for their unbridled support:

"I think it is all of the crowd here because I see everyone loves tennis and I love this atmosphere. I believe I won this match today because here's all of the crowd. If there is no support, I think I'm dead (laughs)."

Zheng Qinwen will head to Europe for the rest of the clay swing. She is slated to play at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix next.