"Speedrunning through racism": Roland Garros under fire for Zheng Qinwen photo mix-up

Roland Garros made a mistake confusing Zheng Qinwen and her compatriot Zheng Saisai on the official player cards for the tournament. As reported on social media, the French Open's official website published player cards where 'Queen Wen's' photo appeared in both instances.

In the singles draw, world No. 7 Zheng Qinwen will undoubtedly be one of the favorites, especially considering she was a gold medalist in Paris 2024, precisely on the Roland Garros courts. However, it is not she who will be in the doubles, but her 31-year-old compatriot Zheng Saisai.

Saisai – current doubles world No. 69 and former No. 15 – will partner with her compatriot Xinyu Wang in the doubles draw. Saisai already reached a Roland Garros doubles final with Yingying Duan back in 2019. She also has a best singles result as world No. 40 in 2019, shortly after winning her first and only title at the WTA 500 San Jose Open against none other than Aryna Sabalenka, then world No. 10.

However, the official Roland Garros website made an error when publishing the players' photos and names. While in the singles card, Zheng Qinwen's name appeared with a photo of her in a pink outfit looking partially to the side, Zheng Saisai's card displayed another photo of Qinwen, this time in a light blue outfit, a photo commonly used for Qinwen on WTA sites during the 2024 season.

"Shame on you, @rolandgarros the French are just being so French. Maybe all Chinese people look the same? Brilliant take! You’re not just stereotyping, you’re speedrunning through racism like it’s a hobby!! Zheng QinWen & Zheng SaiSai," posted user 'Chewy Veeton' on X.

As Tennis Up To Date confirmed, the photos were indeed confused, but the Roland Garros website has already corrected it at the time of this publication.