Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen was allegedly subjected to racist abuse during her significant US Open victory over Donna Vekic, where a spectator repeatedly shouted the phrase “yellow banana.” According to Chinese media reports, courtside microphones captured the offensive remark, and footage of the incident quickly became a trending topic on Weibo.
The racist comment was reportedly first heard during the third game of the second set, after Zheng won a point. In response, she looked up toward the stands and said, “I will beat you.” Later, video footage appeared to show someone chanting “yellow banana, yellow” while Zheng was preparing to serve, prompting a reaction from her coach, Pere Riba.
Additionally, it was reported that Zheng’s match was disrupted twice when an Asian man walked from the stands to his seat. Zheng, visibly irritated, was seen standing with her hands on her hips during the second interruption as she waited for the man to sit down.
Despite the incident, Zheng did not address the alleged abuse in her post-match interview. Instead, she expressed gratitude to the fans who stayed to watch the match, which ended late, saying, “Thanks to the fans who are not sleeping tonight and support me here.” She also acknowledged the difficulty of playing against Vekic, noting, “She’s really tough to play on hard court, I feel today she would [give me] a lot of pressure.”
This isn’t the first time the term “yellow banana” has been used as a racial slur toward Chinese athletes. The same insult was directed at China’s Liang Jingkun during the World Table Tennis Championships in Texas, leading the International Table Tennis Federation to pledge action to prevent such incidents from happening again.
