Qinwen Zheng Gives Alex Eala Frosty Handshake at DC Open

One of the most highly anticipated opening round matches of the Mubadala DC Open is the showdown between Alex Eala and Qinwen Zheng. Eala is a Filipina trailblazer and part of a rising class of Gen-Z stars. Meanwhile, Zheng is a 2024 Olympic gold medalist and the second-most important player (behind Li Na) in Chinese tennis history.

With the entire world watching, Eala and Zheng treated tennis fans to a hard-fought match. After dropping the first set, Eala stormed back to win in three sets: 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. While there was no loser for the sport, as it was a great match featuring two global phenoms, Zheng took no solace in a moral victory.

Qinwen Zheng's Frosty Handshake

Alex Eala beats Qinwen Zheng in 3 sets

the handshake at the net 💀 pic.twitter.com/J6LcSRcyoG
— 🦖 (@RamoFootball) July 28, 2026

In fact, Zheng gave Eala one of her patented frosty handshakes at the net after falling apart in the third set. Zheng briefly clasped Eala's hand and immediately turned to the umpire's chair. But tennis fans know that Zheng's handshakes are not intended as disrespect toward her opponents, but as a sign of her own frustrations.

And the 23-year-old has had plenty of frustrating moments since her 2024 triumph in Paris. An elbow injury slowed her down throughout the first half of 2025, before a surgery essentially ended it (she tried a brief comeback for the Asian Swing last fall). Meanwhile, 2026 has been very up and down for Zheng.

Qinwen Zheng Explains Her Handshakes

This reaction 👏🥹#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/NntjoesrHx
— wta (@WTA) July 28, 2026

In January 2025, Zheng explained, "I always give a handshake to my opponent. I feel that's basic respect. It doesn't matter if I win or lose; I will give a handshake. But not always with a smiling face — I know myself. And I don't often hug my opponent because I feel that's unnecessary.

Zheng concluded, "I come here just to play a match. If I lose, I will give basic respect, and that's it. That's why you wouldn't see me lose a match and then have a happy face towards my opponent. If you did, that would be strange and would mean I didn't care about that match on that day."

Alex Eala's Path Going Forward

PURE TENACITY 💪

Alex Eala battles to seal the second set and take it to a decider against Zheng!#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/H4hJjcpoAs
— wta (@WTA) July 28, 2026

Zheng is currently the WTA World No. 123 with a singles record of 11-12. Eala is World No. 28 with a record of 31-18. On Wednesday afternoon, Eala will take on the seventh-seeded, defending DC Open champion Leylah Fernandez.

The 2026 Mubadala DC Open runs from July 27 through August 2. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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