American Tennis Star Emma Navarro Goes Off On Chinese Opponent After Losing In Paris Olympics

Emma Navarro's run in the Paris Olympics may be over after being knocked out of women’s singles in the third round by China's Qinwen Zheng, but the American tennis star has elected to go out with a bang.

After falling in three sets, Navarro confronted Zheng at the net, which caught the attention of every reporter on hand. When she was asked about what went down during their post-match handshake, Navarro did not leave out any detail.

"I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor," Navarro said, according to the New York Post. "I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way. It makes for a locker room that doesn’t have a lot of camaraderie, so it’s tough to face an opponent like that, who I really don’t respect."

Navarro sending this message to her opponent after losing is a bit of a tough scene, but you can't not respect her brutal honesty, which is what sports fans beg to see from athletes time and time again.

Emma Navarro called out her opponent despite losing in the third round of the Paris Olympics. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Zheng took the high road when asked about what happened at the net following their match, while also delivering a different version of what Navarro actually said.

"She told me she doesn’t know how I have a lot of fans," Zheng explained. "It looks like she’s not happy with my behavior towards her. If she’s not happy about my behavior, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person."

Zheng didn't end her presser without taking a subtle shot of her own, which she certainly earned the right to seeing as how she won the match.

"I will not consider it an attack because she lost the match," Zheng said. 

With Navarro only recently turning 23 and Zheng turning 22 later this year, we could be in store for quite a budding rivalry in women's tennis for years to come.

With Navarro now out of the tournament, Danielle Collins is the lone American woman left in the single's tournament at the Olympics with Coco Gauff being upset earlier in the tournament as well.