Recently, Zheng Qinwen talked about her thoughts on the handshake and hug after the tennis match. The Paris Olympic gold medallist insisted that she would not make friends on the tour and would only focus on winning the title.

At the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Zheng Qinwen shook hands with eventual champion Gauff in a cold manner. After losing to the 2023 US Open champion, the 22-year-old expressed his disappointment with this "bold" move.

In a press conference following the first-round win over Anka Todoni at the 2025 Australian Open, the WTA star spoke about her thoughts on the "tennis tradition" of shaking hands. "Well, I always shake hands with my opponents because I feel that basic respect is important, whether it's winning or losing, I shake hands, but not every time. I always shake hands with a smile because I know myself. She said.

While Zheng expressed her approval of shaking hands with her opponent after the match, she had a completely different view of the hug. "Normally I don't hug my opponent because I don't feel like it's necessary for me. I'm here to play, and if I lose, I'll give you basic respect and that's it. That's why you don't see me smiling at my opponent after I lose. If you see me like that, it's weird, it means I didn't care about the game at all that day. She added.

The WTA Finals are a controversial event for Zheng. In addition to the apparent "clashes" with Swiatek and Gauff, the Olympic gold medalist also made it clear that he doesn't want to be friends with the touring athletes. "My answer is very clear: I prefer to keep my distance from the players. Because there's a lot of competition between me and them. She said. In her opinion, making friends with the contestants and competing with them at the same time is not in line with her philosophy.

Zheng Qinwen also revealed his principle of "never going further" after the game. Zheng Qinwen has always been frank about keeping boundaries with the players during the competition. Although she finished runner-up at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, she was not happy with the result.

Zheng Qinwen mentioned that she kept her distance from the contestants and was very limited in her words when meeting and greeting hers. "We just say hello to each other and sometimes say 'congratulations on a great season'. There will be no more communication, and I never try to do anything more. She said.

Zheng returned to her first Grand Slam breakthrough with full confidence. The 22-year-old star is never short of confidence. "I've always been very confident in my performance on the pitch." Zheng Qinwen told reporters at the Australian Open media day, "It's just that before, when I didn't achieve the same results, maybe people would question me and say, 'Why are you so confident when you don't have any results?' ’”

Entering 2025, Zheng Qinwen is indeed more than just "no achievements", her talented career has been a gradual improvement and growth. While her contemporaries, such as Swiatek or Gauff, took the tour by storm at rocket speed, Zheng's career was more like a slow-burning flame. She was named WTA Rookie of the Year in 2022 and the following year as the Most Improved Player of the Year.

By the end of 2024, she is already an Olympic champion, an Australian Open runner-up, and one of the most popular athletes in a country of more than a billion people. She ended the season with a stunning performance in her WTA Finals debut, finishing runners-up in a three-set defeat to Gauff.

"Now because my grades are there, my self-confidence has become a positive thing." "But I believe that if you want to beat your opponent, you must first have self-confidence." If you don't believe in yourself, you can't do it. I allow myself to be confident, but I'm still in control, not too much. I know that sometimes when I'm overconfident, I don't listen to any advice. I'm trying to be at the best level, not too much, not too little. ”(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)