Coco Gauff said racist online abuse was draining after a disputed point. She lost at the China Open.
BEIJING — Coco Gauff said Wednesday that racist abuse she received online after a disputed point at the China Open had been draining. She made the comments after losing 6-3, 6-3 to Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the round of 16. Gauff, the world No. 4, double-faulted eight times and said she did not play well and was not moving well. She said she turns off her phone and moves on from the abuse, adding that there is little else she can do.
The abuse followed Gauff’s third-round win over Chinese wild card Sun Xinran on Monday. Late in the first set, Gauff stopped play after advertising screens beside the court flickered during a rally, and the chair umpire ordered the point replayed. Sun appeared to be in control of the point at the time. The decision drew boos from the crowd. Gauff went on to win 7-5, 6-1. She said she raised the issue before Sun returned the ball, after noticing the lights flicker a second time.
On Tuesday, Gauff wrote on X that people can dislike her or disagree about what happened without being racist. She said she had received an excessive number of racist comments and direct messages in a matter of hours and rejected accusations that she cheated. She also said she apologized to Sun, who is 16 and was playing her first WTA Tour event, and praised the teenager as a talented player. A Women’s Tennis Association spokesperson told AFP the tour was appalled by the abuse, was in contact with Gauff to offer support and was seeking action against the abusive content.
Gauff, 22, is a two-time Grand Slam champion who won the Beijing title in 2024 and reached the semifinals last year. Mertens, ranked 19th, will face Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. Swiatek, the Polish world No. 9, earlier beat American teenager Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-3.
Information for this report came from Agence France-Presse, as published by Al Jazeera, and from Anadolu Agency, including statements from the Women’s Tennis Association.