Feud between Taiwanese stars escalates at US Open with Facebook accusations

Hsieh Su-wei and Chan Hao-ching have taken their on-court drama to social media. During Monday’s Round of 16 doubles match between partners Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko and Hao-ching and Maya Joint, Hao-ching did not shake hands with Su-wei, bringing a longstanding feud to the forefront at the U.S.Open. Initially, Ostapenko had screamed in the direction of Hao-ching’s player’s box after she and Su-wei toppled their opponents in straight sets. Su-wei addressed the drama in a late-night Facebook post Monday, though she didn’t specifically mention Hao-ching by name. “In recent matches against Taiwanese players, either the players like to provoke us, or their team/fans don’t understand even basic tennis etiquette,” she wrote.“Seeing how mad my partner was, I had to join the yelling- good chance to practice my lion’s roar!” Su-wei also said in the post. However, in a social media post of her own on Instagram, Hao-ching made several accusations toward her rival and explained why he didn’t shake her hand following the match Sunday. “Starting from the mixed doubles at the French Open a certain year, I waited at the net three times in a row after the match, only to get stood up for the handshake, so I didn’t bother waiting this time,” she wrote on her Instagram Story, according to a translated version of the post.

“It’s not a lack of sportsmanship; there’s just no need to wait for someone who doesn’t respect tennis etiquette.”Additionally, she claimed that Su-wei hired “random people” to shout at her and her team during the China Open, though she did not provide any proof in the post. Ostapenko seemed to take exception to Hao-ching’s decision not to shake hands with Su-wei and could be seen looking in shock as Hao-Ching left the court, even turning around and raising both arms in confusion over the decision. While Ostapenko’s reaction after the match quickly caught people’s attention, the bad blood between Su-wei and Ha...