Emma Raducanu recently reacted to the timely breaks from her rival Zheng Qinwen during the quarterfinal showdown at the Queen’s Club Championship. The 22-year-old said the breaks taken by her opponent were not ideal.
However, Raducanu chose not to protest strongly and left the decisions up to the umpire. The admission came after her 6-2, 6-4 defeat.
Emma Raducanu Opens Up About Enforced Breaks From Qinwen Zheng at the HSBC Championships
During the quarterfinal showdown against Raducanu, Zheng took a break in the first set and therefore stepped away to change her shoes. While waiting for her rival to step back, Raducanu decided to practise her serve. However, the move backfired as it was against the rules for players to practise serving after the match begins.
In a post-match press conference, Raducanu was asked about her thoughts on the multiple breaks her opponent called during the match.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the move, she said: “I’m not sure what I can do in those moments, to be honest. I think, you know, it happened three times on my service game. I don’t think it’s necessarily, you know, ideal, let’s say. But I think, you know, the umpire makes his call. I can’t really do anything about it.”
Transcript of Emma’s QF press conference pic.twitter.com/j7iOPkK5fz
— Raducanu News (@RaducanuNews) June 13, 2025
It wasn’t just Raducanu who thought her rival’s breaks were distracting, as the crowd also booed when Zheng took much longer than expected to change her shoes. Zheng later responded by raising her hand to apologise.
The match was paused again in the second set when she had a problem with her racket.
Qinwen Zheng Cites Inexperience on Grass Courts As the Reason Behind Long Breaks
After securing a position in the semifinal, Zheng couldn’t help but admit the fact that she’s learning to manage her grip on grass courts. In the post-match press conference, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist mentioned how she isn’t aware of when to change her shoes on grass.
“I want to apologise for my shoes. I didn’t want to fall two times, but I just don’t know how to run on grass,” she said. “I still don’t know when I have to change the grass shoes. I think right now is the time, so it’s the new shoes. I feel much better to run.
The Chinese player also expressed excitement over securing the win against Raducanu.
“It was a really difficult match for me, especially (because) she has got more experience than me on the grasscourt. I’m just really happy to get into the semi-final for the first time on grass,” she added.
After the win, Zheng will now compete against Amanda Anisimova for a place in the finals.
