Magda Linette’s Wuhan debut overshadowed by controversial tweet: "I know I offended some of you guys"

Magda Linette didn’t receive the warmest welcome at her WTA 1000 Wuhan Open debut, following controversial remarks on social media. The 32-year-old Pole defeated 11th seed Liudmila Samsonova with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 win, advancing to the Round of 32, where she’ll face Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko on Wednesday.

However, Linette’s strong performance wasn’t the only thing that caught the audience’s attention during the match. The world No. 45 received a lukewarm reception from the Chinese crowd, seemingly due to a Tweet she posted while traveling to Wuhan: “The virus database has been updated,” along with a picture from the train in Beijing.

Apparently, Linette made a reference to Covid-19 that she quickly deleted. Nevertheless, some fans reacted, sharing screenshots of the Polish player's post, which was not well received as she arrived on court to face Samsonova.

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After the match, she was asked in the on-court interview about her performance, while shouts of ‘apologize’ could be heard from the stands. “Can I just say, I know I offended some of you guys,” she began, before the interviewer took the mic and tried to change the topic.

“Okay, talk about your performance,” they said, but Linette continued. “Thank you so much for still being so nice to me, so thank you so much.”

However, the emcee didn’t fully translate Linette’s words, simply saying: “She said thank you. That’s all from us today. The game is over.”

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Eane

@funtennisfan

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Magda Linette causes controversy after commenting about the virus ahead of Wuhan Open. Many Chinese fans demand action from the WTA regarding this matter.

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Owen

@kostekcanu

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She tried to apologize to the crowd, but the interviewer literally took the mic away and told her to answer the question about the match 💀 they ended the interview after one question

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moonball enthusiast

@ninjaga20

That Linette interview 💀💀 she is so hated in Wuhan 😭😭

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