Coco Gauff said she had received an “insane” amount of racial abuse on social media after the two-times Grand Slam champion beat local teenager Sun Xinran at the China Open on Monday in a match where a replayed point sparked an online backlash.
The American won 7-5 6-1 to reach the fourth round, but was
targeted after stopping play during a crucial point in the first
set, raising her hand to complain about a flickering advertising
board just as Sun was about to put away a winner.
After a video review, the umpire ordered the point to be
replayed. Gauff won the replayed point and held serve for 5-5
before cruising to victory against the Chinese 16-year-old.
Gauff, 22, said she had received a barrage of abusive
messages on social media after the match.
“You can dislike me or disagree about what happened without
being racist,” Gauff, who is Black, said on X early on Tuesday
in reply to a post containing a racial slur.
“The amount of racist comments/direct messages I’ve received
in the last few hours is insane.
“Lastly, I’m not a cheater or a thief.”
Reuters has contacted the WTA, the governing body of women’s
tennis, and tournament organisers in Beijing for comment.
The WTA has made efforts to tackle the issue of online abuse
by introducing an AI-powered system which monitors thousands of
players and officials on social media.
A study by the WTA and World Tennis showed players were
subjected to over 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social
media in 2025, up from 8,000 posts a year earlier.
Gauff also explained that she was following the rules when
she challenged the point. Players are allowed to request video
reviews of select judgment calls, including claims a distraction
may have interfered with play.
The American said she had spoken to Sun about the point at
the end of the match.
“Xinran’s an incredible talent and player, I apologised for
the situation at the end of the match and she completely
understood,” she wrote.
“I didn’t like to see her so emotional as I’ve been there
and I really understand what it’s like but this is the beginning
of an incredible career. It was an honour to share the court in
front of her home crowd.”
Source: Khaleej Times