"It's the first time I have this situation": Zheng Qinwen admits 'distraction' after time violation call during Australian Open second-round defeat

China’s Zheng Qinwen has stated that she was taken by surprise after being penalized for time violation during the Australian Open. The 22-year-old suffered a shocking exit from the first Grand Slam of the year on Wednesday where she lost in the second round to Germany’s Laura Siegemund in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3.

The result was a surprising one considering the fact that Zheng arrived in the competition as one of the favourites to go all the way after having a brilliant time in the same tournament where she finished as the runner-up after losing to the reigning world number one Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

Zheng, while speaking to the media after the match, highlighted that she got distracted during the match after being penalized for a time violation, which was the first time in her career. She also admitted that the lack of tennis before the competition also played a role in her second-round exit.

“Obviously it really distract me from the match,” said the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medal winner. “Also it's the first time I have this situation about time violation I think. This is my fourth year in the tour and it never happened to me. Yes. Cause you know with my angle, the time was on the side so I couldn't see if I bounce the ball. I couldn't catch the time. So I don't know if I'm late or I'm early and I was so surprised to get that second serve because it never happened to me before because the time was not directly in my vision zone, like straight away. For me there was no chance to play a tournament before the Australian Open this year because there were some issues in my body I didn’t solve yet.”