Chinese Star Qinwen Zheng Creates a Buzz at Indian Wells Ahead of Pre-Match Warm-Up

Emerging Chinese talent Qinwen Zheng created quite a buzz at Indian Wells after facing accusations of prematurely halting her pre-match warm-up with her opponent.

As she prepared for her quarter-final clash against Marta Kostyuk, both competitors engaged in the standard four-minute warm-up period prior to the start of the match.

This time is typically allocated for exchanging rallies, volleys, overhead smashes, serves, and returns.

However, Zheng decided to shift gears and began lobbing balls for Kostyuk to practise her overhead smash.

In the midst of this exchange, Zheng abruptly left the court to start serving, prompting the chair umpire to intervene.

The umpire attempted to persuade her to resume the warm-up and ultimately reset the warm-up clock to bring her back on to the court.

Kostyuk appeared bewildered by Zheng’s actions, rolling her eyes and surveying the court in apparent disbelief.

Zheng went on to defeat Kostyuk but subsequently lost to Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals.

The Polish No. 2 seed overcame the eighth-seeded Zheng with a score of 6-3, 6-3, in a rematch of the Paris Olympics semi-final from last summer, which Zheng had won.

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Swiatek, the reigning champion, is currently riding a 10-match winning streak in the Californian desert.

The five-time grand slam winner also triumphed at this event in 2022. Last year, Zheng ended Swiatek’s remarkable 25-match winning streak at the Olympics.

During the match, Swiatek converted all five of her break points, while Zheng managed to break serve twice, contributing to her six-game tally, which matched the total number of games Swiatek had previously lost in the tournament.