Public opinion erupts again as Zheng Qinwen exits! Fans call for new coach's dismissal, top player rarely admits being in a slump.

A major upset occurred today in the second round of the women's singles at the 2026 WTA1000 Indian Wells tournament—China's top player Zheng Qinwen lost 0-2 to Croatia's Ružić, ranked 57th in the world, stopping at the 32nd round. Notably, this is her second tournament since returning from elbow surgery and also marks the official debut of her collaboration with new coach, former Cypriot tennis star Baghdatis.

After the match, Zheng Qinwen explained the reasons for her loss and unusually publicly admitted she is "going through a low period." This defeat, marked by chaotic tactics and frequent errors, also sparked a full-blown wave of public skepticism toward the new coaching team. The topic "Baghdatis dismissed" quickly surged to trending status, with related hashtags exceeding 5 billion reads within hours.

Reviewing the entire match, Zheng Qinwen blasted 5 ace serves and led in winners 18-15 over her opponent, but her unforced errors reached a high of 34, double that of Ružić. Especially in the second set, she tenaciously chased from a 2-5 deficit to a 5-5 tie, yet suddenly collapsed in the crucial 11th game—consecutively making low-level errors like forehand returns into the net and double faults on serves, ultimately losing the second set 5-7. During the match, Baghdatis repeatedly attempted to shout instructions from the sidelines, but Zheng Qinwen hardly made any tactical adjustments, even showing disconnected scenes like "the coach waved signaling a change of line, yet she still insisted on straight-line attacks."

At the post-match press conference, Zheng Qinwen's tone carried obvious fatigue. She stated that this loss was mainly due to her own poor performance, with issues in key point execution and match rhythm control, and overall not being fully into match condition. Particularly, her serve success rate was very low; recently, to protect her elbow, she hadn't focused much on practicing serves, leading to insufficient stability on first serves. Additionally, after the nighttime court temperature dropped, she found the racket string tension was incorrect, affecting her hitting feel, which also reflected inadequate pre-match detail preparation. Moreover, she hadn't competed in noisy venues for a long time, and the on-site atmosphere was somewhat distracting, but mainly she needs to regain competitive rhythm by playing more matches.

Regarding her current state, Zheng Qinwen said: "I might be going through a small low period right now, but I think it's all quite normal." China's top player further explained, "I might have lost one match; indeed the result wasn't what I wanted, and I'm trying hard to make adjustments. But it's okay; tomorrow we still wake up after sleeping, then continue to go train, continue to find my shortcomings, and continue to improve. ... No one's life is smooth sailing, including me. I also know how much effort I've put in along this journey, and even now I haven't reached the position I want, I still need to keep striving. So actually, like you all, I'm a dream pursuer."

Despite Zheng Qinwen explaining the reasons for her loss, domestic social platforms still stirred heated discussion. On domestic social media, the topic "Baghdatis dismissed" surged into trending within an hour. Top comments directly pointed to ineffective coaching tactics: "When coached by Ribba, at least she knew to change rhythm on key points; now Zheng Qinwen seems like a headless fly!" Some netizens dug up match footage from 2025 when Zheng Qinwen, under Ribba's guidance, reached the French Open quarter-finals, contrasting this "34 errors" data, bluntly stating "this coaching change seems like self-destruction."

Comments abroad were equally sharp. Tennis professional media Tennis Channel published an article stating: "Baghdatis's debut as a coach was disappointing; he failed to help Zheng Qinwen control errors, instead making her attacks more reckless." An ESPN tennis reporter questioned: "The Chinese star choosing to replace her long-time coach during the Olympic cycle is itself a high-stakes gamble; currently, the risk of losing seems increasing."

American fans' comments were more intense; the hashtag "Zheng Qinwen should retire" quickly spread, with some netizens bluntly saying "her movement looks like a beginner." European media Tennis World criticized: "New coach Baghdatis's tactics are utterly ineffective; Zheng Qinwen's attacks are more reckless than during the Ribba period."

Some domestic sports media also conducted deep analysis of this loss. A domestic authoritative media presented a viewpoint, suggesting this is just a normal outcome of China's top player adjusting with the new team, but also expressed underlying concerns. The article wrote: "Zheng Qinwen needs to defend over 2000 points this season; stopping at the second round in Indian Wells has already cost her 205 points. If subsequent matches still fail to mesh well with the new team, her world ranking might fall out of the top 30."

A well-known domestic tennis magazine called for her team to "quickly cut losses": "Rather than draining energy within an incorrect tactical system, it's better to reassess the coaching team's compatibility, since the time left for Zheng Qinwen to adjust is already limited."

Currently, Zheng Qinwen's team has not responded to the coaching controversy. According to the schedule, she will directly head to the Miami tournament to continue her磨合 journey with Baghdatis. This "low period" controversy clearly will continue to ferment.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lu Xiaotian)