Qinwen Zheng defeated Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the 2026 Miami Open, advancing to face Madison Keys. A towel mix-up with a ball kid during the match drew sharp fan criticism online. Supporters accused Zheng of poor behavior toward the young assistant.
Qinwen Zheng secured a straight-sets victory over Sloane Stephens, 6-3, 6-3, at the Miami Open on March 21, 2026. The win marked her third consecutive triumph against Stephens and propelled her into the third round against Madison Keys. Zheng dominated, breaking Stephens four times from six opportunities and winning 84% of her first-serve points, despite facing only one break point herself. Play proceeded smoothly overall, with no significant delays from the court incident that later gained attention. The controversy arose in the second set, with Zheng leading 4-0 and serving at 15-all. After Stephens won a point, Zheng requested a towel. A ball kid approached with what turned out to be Stephens' towel by mistake, as they appeared identical. Zheng signaled 'no' with her hand and stepped back. The ball kid quickly realized the error, swapped the towel, and Zheng accepted the correct one before returning to play. A video clip of the moment spread rapidly on X (formerly Twitter), prompting backlash from fans. One user commented, “She was like please don’t approach me with that towel 🤨🤨.” Another wrote, “grab your own f**kin’ towel, this shit so disgusting.” A third stated, “Just another reason apart from hygiene issues, to stop ball kids being subjected to abuse from players & tennis hierarchy. Thought tennis stopped this abuse, after Covid.” Additional posts questioned why ball kids handle sweaty towels, with one asking, “Am I tripping or the player was definitely giving her attitude😭.” This incident occurred amid evolving towel protocols in tennis. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, players fetched their own towels from baseline racks to minimize contact. By late 2024, the ATP Tour reinstated ball kid delivery for smoother matches. The 2026 Miami Open employed ball kids for towels. Earlier, Coco Gauff expressed reluctance about ball kids touching sweaty towels, saying on the Love All podcast, “I agree with not wanting ball kids to touch sweaty towels lol I wouldn’t want to either, I always felt bad giving them my sweaty towels lol.”
