WTA Finals star issued public apology after outburst in win over Elena Rybakina

Qinwen Zheng delivered a heartfelt apology to spectators at last year's WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia after battling past Elena Rybakina. The Chinese star secured her maiden victory at the end-of-season tournament in Riyadh with a gruelling triumph over Rybakina in the Purple Group.

The then-22-year-old was in the finest form of her fledgling career, and she delivered an impressive display to defeat fifth seed Rybakina 7-6, 3-6, 6-1. At one point during the 2024 encounter, Zheng appeared to lose her temper with supporters in the crowd and yelled in their direction as her emotions threatened to spill over.

However, she regained her composure to cruise past her Kazakhstani rival in the deciding set.

Zheng, who initially failed to realise she had clinched the match as she prepared to contest another point, eventually managed to relish her triumph.

Yet she began her on-court interview by first offering an apology to the supporters.

"I say I apologise, in one moment my emotions weren't there because I wasn't totally under control," Zheng said. "I'm so sorry that I shouted. I want to say thank you [to the fans] for continuing to support me."

She added: "I'm really happy to win this match. I [have] never beat her [Rybakina] before. She's one of the greatest players on the tour right now. She has a huge serve and great groundstrokes. I'm just happy today I gave my best."

Zheng was subsequently told that she was 'forgiven' by the supporters, who applauded her as she departed the court and she responded by gesturing in their direction. By clinching the match, she became only the second Chinese player after Li Na to win a WTA Finals match since the tournament's inception in 1972.

Zheng suffered an initial defeat to Aryna Sabalenka with a score of 6-3, 6-4, but demonstrated her tenacity against Rybakina, setting up a thrilling decider against Jasmine Paolini.

The Paris 2024 gold medallist has had an exceptional year on the WTA Tour, winning 45 out of her 60 matches and securing titles in Palermo and Tokyo, in addition to her Olympic victory.

However, 12 months later, she has fallen to world No. 24 and did not qualify for the WTA Finals.

She missed the US Open and her best performance in a Grand Slam this year came at the French Open, where she reached the quarter-finals.