The competitive rivalry between Taiwanese tennis players Hsieh Su-wei and Chan Hao-ching has spilled onto social media, following a tense moment at the US Open. The on-court dispute occurred during the Round of 16 doubles match where Hsieh, partnered with Jelena Ostapenko, faced Chan and her partner Maya Joint.
After Hsieh and Ostapenko secured a straight-sets victory, Chan did not shake hands with Hsieh at the net. This action brought a long-standing feud between the two players to a public forefront. Ostapenko appeared visibly surprised by the lack of handshake, looking in shock and raising her arms in confusion as Chan left the court.
Hsieh addressed the incident in a late-night Facebook post, without naming Chan directly. She wrote, "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 added, "Seeing how mad my partner was, I had to join the yelling—good chance to practice my lion’s roar!"
Chan, however, responded on her Instagram Story, explaining her decision not to shake hands. According to a translated version of her post, Chan stated she had been “stood up for the handshake” three times in a row by Hsieh in past mixed doubles matches at the French Open. "It’s not a lack of sportsmanship; there’s just no need to wait for someone who doesn’t respect tennis etiquette," Chan wrote. She also alleged that Hsieh had hired individuals to shout at her and her team during the China Open, though no proof was provided.
The dispute is reportedly fueled by Hsieh's belief that the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association has shown preferential treatment in funding and resources to Chan and her sister, Yung-Jan.