Tennis matches are usually decided by skill and composure. But sometimes, one heated moment steals the spotlight. That’s exactly what happened at a 2026 French Open women’s singles second-round match. After losing 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 against Tamara Korpatsch, 24-year-old WTA Pro Wang Xinyu refused to shake hands with her opponent. But Xinyu’s demeanor was not without reason.

The World No. 34 from China was already trailing the opening set 2-5. Determined to make a comeback, Xinyu fumed over a line call. She refused to accept the initial verdict. As a result, the chair umpire climbed down from the ladder to manually inspect the ball mark. However, escalating her protest, Xinyu broke a strict Grand Slam rule by crossing the net over to Korpatsch’s side of the court to argue her case.

However, a punishment followed. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) Grand Slam Code of Conduct governs the French Open 2026. And as per their regulatory framework, Xinyu’s action fell strictly under the category of Unsportsmanlike Conduct. As a result, umpire Aurélie Tourte gave the call and warned the rising Chinese star.

While the rest of the tennis world has fully shifted toward automation, Roland Garros remains the lone outlier. Hence, the French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that does not use an Electronic Line Calling (ELC) system, allegedly leading to such controversial calls and outbursts from players.

Over the years, there have been multiple incidents when players jump to their opponent’s half, arguing over a line call. For instance, take Denis Shapovalov. During a highly intense match against Lorenzo Sonego, Shapovalov got into an argument with the chair umpire over a serve that was called a double fault.

To prove his point, Shapovalov walked onto Sonego’s side of the clay court to visually highlight the ball mark. However, the umpire didn’t entertain it and instantly hit him with a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. Then, in the 2019 Italian Open, Nick Kyrgios also did something that resulted in more brutal punishment than Xinyu and Shapovalov.

Kyrgios became furious over a line call. As a result, he crossed the net line to kick a water bottle on the opponent’s side mockingly. Kyrgios even proceeded to smash his racket before throwing a plastic chair directly onto the court. The escalation went far beyond a standard warning. The supervisor was called, and Kyrgios was handed a game penalty, which immediately progressed into a disqualification.

Xinyu escaped Kyrgios-level punishment, but the drama escalated at the net. After Korpatsch’s 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory, both players approached the net. Then, after a tense exchange, they refused to shake hands. The verbal back and forth continued as they shook hands with the umpire while the crowd booed the Chinese star.

What’s next for Wang Xinyu and Tamara Korpatsch at the 2026 French Open?

Although Wang Xinyu exited the women’s singles category at the 2026 French Open, she remains in the competition through her participation in women’s doubles. In the opening round on Tuesday, Xinyu and her partner from Chinese Taipei, Hsieh Su-Wei, comfortably defeated the team of Daria Kasatkina and Camila Osorio with sets of 6-4 and 6-1.

In the second round, Xinyu and Su-Wei will face the 13th-seeded duo of Kristina Mladenovic and Guo Hanyu on Friday. Xinyu is likely focused on moving past her recent singles match defeat against Tamara Korpatsch and advancing in the women’s doubles category.

Meanwhile, Korpatsch has reached the third round of a Grand Slam singles event for the first time in her career. Interestingly, her first appearance in the third round of a major tournament occurred in doubles at the 2024 Australian Open, where she partnered with Elixane Lechemia. For her upcoming match at the 2026 French Open, Korpatsch will now face No. 7 seed Elina Svitolina on Friday.