The final between world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and local favorite Zheng Qinwen ended with a new crowning of the Belarusian at the Wuhan Open. During the match, the Olympic champion completely pulled out against one of the line judges in disagreement with the referee's ruling.
Zheng Qinwen could not achieve her dream of lifting the Wuhan Open trophy and celebrate in front of her fans. In front of her was the best player of this second half of the season, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who seeks to continue deducting points to the world number 1, Iga Swiatek.
Both players had already met on 3 previous occasions and all ended with a victory for the current world number 2.
This Sunday would be no exception, although Zheng sold her defeat by putting up a great fight. During the third set, the Chinese player experienced a moment of frustration when a line judge prevented her from making a shot while she was backing up to recover from a lob played by her opponent.
The Chinese player could not contain her anger and approached the judge, expressing her discontent with shouts. Despite her reaction, the judge remained calm and maintained eye contact, which intensified the tension on the court.
In the networks a debate was triggered about whether the official really interfered with the trajectory that the Chinese player had to follow to be able to hit the ball. Here is the video:
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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