The US Open Women’s Doubles Round of 16 became the stage for a heated dispute between Taiwanese tennis players Hsieh Su-wei and Chan Hao-ching. The match included tense moments, such as taunts from the sidelines, a clash with the umpire, and a post-match handshake snub.
During the match at Flushing Meadows, the fourth-seeded duo of Hsieh and her outspoken partner, Jeļena Ostapenko from Latvia, defeated Chan and her Australian partner Maya Joint with scores of 6-4, 6-4. The competition took a dramatic turn when Ostapenko and Hsieh accused Chan’s coach of taunting them by sarcastically applauding their unforced errors and double faults in Mandarin.
Although Ostapenko doesn’t speak Mandarin, Hsieh translated the remarks for her. Ostapenko considered the behavior disrespectful and requested a Chinese translator on the court. She asserted, “They do this because they know they cannot beat us, because they’re so much worse than us.” At the end of the match, Ostapenko expressed her victory by shouting at Chan’s coaching box.
After the game, Chan shook hands with Ostapenko yet deliberately bypassed Hsieh, ignoring her with no eye contact. This animosity has a background rooted in a domestic rivalry over resources, national support, and sports politics within Taiwan. Both players represent Taiwan internationally under the “Chinese Taipei” name set by governing authorities.
Hsieh, once ranked as the doubles world No. 1, has accused the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association of preferential treatment towards Chan and her sister, Latisha Chan, regarding funding and sponsorship decisions. The rivalry intensified during the 2016 Rio Olympics when Taiwan’s tennis officials favored the Chans over Hsieh’s coach, leading Hsieh to withdraw from the Games in protest. This long-standing grudge has now come to the forefront at Flushing Meadows.
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