'Next time I’ll scream too': Zheng Qinwen slams Aryna Sabalenka’s grunting at Roland Garros

Zheng Qinwen was far from pleased with Aryna Sabalenka's grunting during her Roland Garros quarterfinal defeat. The world No. 1 overcame a tough challenge from the Olympic champion, winning 7-6(3), 6-3, and advanced to the French Open semifinals, where she will face Iga Swiatek.

There was high anticipation for another clash between Zheng and Sabalenka. The Chinese player had snapped a streak of six consecutive losses to the Belarusian a couple of weeks ago at the Rome Open – in their only previous clay-court encounter. Conditions seemed favorable for the world No. 8 this time, but she ultimately fell in straight sets to an impeccable Sabalenka, leaving the head-to-head at 7-1.

In Zheng's relatively short career, the most difficult opponent to overcome has been Sabalenka, against whom she had only taken one set in their first six encounters. However, in Rome, it seemed Zheng had deciphered her opponent, beating her in straight sets and breaking a streak of nine consecutive wins.

In the first set, Zheng took the lead and was up 4-2, but couldn't maintain it. After her opponent's comeback, Sabalenka took the tie-break, and then in the second set, she never relinquished the lead. The Chinese world No. 8 lost control of the match around the middle of the second set, losing her serve three consecutive times.

After the defeat, Zheng expressed her annoyance at Sabalenka's grunts when hitting the ball. "I will say this. How can you scream when you hit the ball but you still screaming when I hit the ball? This is hindrance," the 2024 gold medalist said. "I could have played better, but we need to change the rule. If not, OK. I will scream when she hits next time we play."

Despite the loss, Zheng had a couple of good weeks at Roland Garros, with four wins that earned her 300 points. She currently sits as world No. 5 in the live ranking – her best ranking so far – though she still needs to await other results to know her final ranking after the tournament. On the other hand, Sabalenka has guaranteed a dream matchup against Iga Swiatek in the tournament semifinals, where she will look to end Swiatek's 26-match winning streak at Roland Garros.