Qinwen Zheng was unable to contain her frustration as she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open final, with the home favourite involved in an angry exchange with a line judge

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Qinwen Zheng lost her temper with a line judge (Image: (Image: SKY SPORTS))

Qinwen Zheng lost her temper with a line judge during her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open final. Sabalenka secured a 6-3 5-7 6-3 victory, claiming her fourth title of the year.

In the final set, Zheng became enraged with a line judge who she believed was obstructing her while attempting a backhand shot over her shoulder. After the ball landed outside the lines, awarding Sabalenka the point, Zheng’s anger boiled over.

She confronted the line judge, yelling furiously before expressing her frustration to the chair umpire. The line judge remained impassive, maintaining eye contact with Zheng throughout her outburst.

Sabalenka sealed her win three games later, silencing the home crowd who had been urging Zheng on. This marked Sabalenka’s third consecutive Wuhan Open title, narrowing the gap with Iga Swiatek at the top of the WTA rankings.

In her post-match interview, Sabalenka said: “That sounds crazy [winning three titles]. This place definitely feels like home. Thank you guys for coming and bringing an amazing atmosphere tonight.”

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Aryna Sabalenka beat Qinwen Zheng to secure her fourth title of the year (Image: (Image: GETTY))

Even though you were supporting her, I really enjoyed playing in front of you. I got a lot of support throughout the tournament, so thank you so much.

It is always an amazing atmosphere on and off the court. “I will definitely come back even stronger than this year and I will do my best to keep hold of this beautiful trophy in this beautiful place. I will do my best to come back as strong as possible.”

On the other hand, Zheng saw a silver lining in her performance despite not clinching the win.

She has yet to defeat Sabalenka in any of their encounters but remains hopeful for a victory in their next match. “I am glad to see that I am improving,” she expressed.

“I have felt much closer than in the Australian Open. However, I need to keep working to be better.”