Chris Evert responds as commentators at US Open accused of mispronouncing Qinwen Zheng’s name
Chris Evert explained why the commentators are not wrong in pronouncing Qinwen Zheng's name as 'Kinwen Zheng.'
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Chris Evert, Qinwen Zheng (Images via CNN, X)
The commentators at the US Open have come under fire for ‘mispronouncing’ Qinwen Zheng‘s name. Zheng, who was searching for her first Grand Slam title, was denied the same by Aryna Sabalenka, beating her easily with a 6-1, 6-2 scoreline in the quarterfinals.
The match was a repeat of the 2024 Australian Open where Sabalenka defeated her in straight sets to defend her title. Zheng came to New York after a fourth-round defeat at the Cincinnati Open but before that, she lifted her biggest title of her career so far when she beat Donna Vekic in the final of the Paris Olympics.
After she bowed out of this US Open, a social media user accused three commentators, Cliff Drysdale, Mary Joe Fernandez, and Pam Shriver of mispronouncing Zheng’s name, saying Qinwen is pronounced as ‘Chinwen’ as per Mandarin pronunciation and not ‘Kinwen’.
When Chris Evert, who is also a commentator at the US Open, noticed the tweet, she explained that Zheng was the one who confirmed that ‘Kinwen’ is the correct pronunciation.
We actually asked her directly, and she gave us that pronunciation!Chris Evert wrote on X
Check her post here:
We actually asked her directly, and she gave us that pronunciation! https://t.co/mvLWcw5Hve
— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) September 4, 2024
Andy Roddick also joined the discussion and gave a witty reply. On his post, Evert later commented with laughing emoticons.
Yes, but did you ask Ratazana on Twitter before committing to what Qinwen told you to call her ?Andy Roddick wrote on X
Check their posts here:
Yes, but did you ask Ratazana on Twitter before committing to what Qinwen told you to call her ?
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) September 4, 2024
????? https://t.co/juCqVP3gAt
— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) September 4, 2024
Qinwen Zheng blames sleepless nights for her below-par performance
Qinwen Zheng played till 2:15 am local time on Monday in her fourth-round match against Donna Vekic. She returned to court on Tuesday evening only to bow out with a poor performance against Aryna Sabalenka. Zheng later revealed that she went to bed around 5 am after her win over Vekic and couldn’t practice on that day.
I couldn’t sleep after I finished the match at 2:30 in the morning. I was not able to practice yesterday because I was feeling terrible. I couldn’t wake up. Sometimes the schedule is like this. If I hit some balls yesterday, maybe it would help for the match today, but it’s fine.Qinwen Zheng said at the press conference
Zheng added that she was hopeful she would be in “prime time” in China when the WTA Tour enters the Asian swing. She previously said she was used to playing late-night matches. The 21-year-old will now prepare for the Asian swing and will eye the Wuhan Open, which is scheduled to start in October.
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Gouri Das
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