Andy Roddick comes to Chris Evert's aid with a joke after he allegedly made a mistake against Qinwen Zheng at the US Open

Qinwen Zheng's impressive run at the US Open ended in a tough match against Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. However, following her early exit from the tournament, another issue surrounding Zheng has garnered considerable attention on social media. It involves former American professional Chris Evert, who has come under fire for mispronouncing Zheng's name. In response to the backlash, Andy Roddick came to Evert's defense and stressed the importance of understanding and respect in such matters.

It all started when a fan used his X-name to point out that Zheng's name was actually mispronounced by ESPN analysts. The fan wrote: “Hey @espn, please tell Mr. Drysdale, Ms. Fernandez and Ms. Shriver that Qinwen is pronounced 'Chinwen' (which is closest to the Mandarin pronunciation). Not 'Kinwen.' Please and thank you.”

Chris Evert replied: “We actually asked her directly and she showed us this pronunciation!” Zheng's supporters did not take Evert's comment positively as many questions were raised. But Andy Roddick supported Evert. The American legend mentioned: “Yes, but did you ask Ratazana on Twitter before settling on what Qinwen told you to call her?”

However, while Roddick was defending Evert, he was questioned about his own language skills by a fan on X who wrote: “How’s your Mandarin, Andy?” However, Roddick, being Roddick, silenced the critic with a sharp response, writing: “It's bad enough that I go by whatever name Qinwen tells me to call her.”

Last year, it was Chris Evert who backed Andy Roddick when a website misquoted him. Roddick had claimed that Carlos Alcaraz was the most complete 19-year-old player he had ever seen, but a tennis website misinterpreted this and reported that Roddick had claimed that Alcaraz was better than Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Roddick promptly corrected this and asked the media to use his exact words instead of changing their meaning. Evert praised Roddick's clear and direct approach and stressed the importance of precise language and integrity in sports journalism. She stated: “I said it is more complete. Please use my words instead of yours when you express what I am thinking… Thank you.”

However, Andy Roddick and Chris Evert don't always see eye to eye in public. Last year, around the same time, Roddick questioned the effectiveness of players turned coaches in an open discussion. Chris Evert responded with a counterargument, defending the value and experience that former players bring to the coaching role.

When Andy Roddick started a debate with Chris Evert

Last year, Andy Roddick's comments about the trend of former players moving into coaching sparked a debate. Roddick expressed concern about former players, whom he described as “lazy,” during their playing days they became coaches. The 2003 US Open champion tweeted that he was surprised at the frequency of such transitions and questioned the value of efforts as a coach.

Evert countered, saying that these players may have realized the importance of hard work after their careers. She also argued that top players are not always the best coaches, as she wrote: “Maybe after they retired and looked more closely at their careers, they realized how important that was. It's as if top players don't always make the best coaches. Just a thought!” Roddick later clarified his position, emphasizing that he was more concerned with work ethic than his ability as a coach.

This time, however, when ESPN commentators faced criticism for mispronouncing Qinwen Zheng's name, Roddick has backed Evert and her colleagues. What do you think about this whole controversy? Share your thoughts in the comments.