Taiwan women’s tennis feud flares up

Taiwanese tennis players Hsieh Su-wei and Chan Hao-ching on Saturday revived their feud at the Asian Games, with Chan fuming at Hsieh for a handshake snub at the end of their women’s doubles final in Nagoya, Japan.

The pair last month did not shake hands following a tense US Open doubles match in which Hsieh’s playing partner Jelena Ostapenko roared at Chan’s coach, who is also her older sister, in the player’s box after sealing victory.

The Taiwanese rivals later traded barbs on social media about the incident.

Taiwan’s gold medalist Hsieh Su-wei, left, walks away after shaking hands with Wu Fang-hsien, top, left, as Hsieh’s partner, Liang En-shuo, bottom, shakes hands with Wu and Chan Hao-ching after their women’s doubles final match at the Asian games in Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday.

Photo: Reuters

Chan on Saturday said she had been willing to put all that behind her after she and Wu Fang-hsien lost 6-4, 4-6 (10-5) to Hsieh and Liang En-shuo in an all-Taiwan clash for the doubles gold at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.

“At the US Open, I didn’t shake her hand, and that’s because in previous times I didn’t get any response, and I felt that there was no point in sticking my warm face to a cold butt,” the 33-year-old said. “But today, I felt this is a match for [Taiwan]. Before the match, I decided that I would stretch out my hand after the match, but I still didn’t get to shake her hand.”

Chan said she was also disappointed during the tiebreak when Taiwan’s head tennis coach clapped for Hsieh.

“At that moment, I felt quite down. After all, his role today is the head coach,” said Chan, who won the doubles gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago.

Hsieh, a nine-times Grand Slam champion in doubles, played down the handshake snub.

“It’s important to respect your opponents on court,” the 40-year-old said. “If my opponent doesn’t respect me, what’s there to say I wouldn’t feel like shaking hands, that’s it.”