Coco Gauff has publicly condemned racist abuse she received on social media after her third-round victory at the China Open in Beijing. The world number four beat wildcard Xinran Sun 7-5, 6-1, and later addressed an on-court incident that occurred during the match.
Incident at 4-5 in the first set
The 22-year-old American raised both hands to halt play during a rally at 4-5 in the opening set, just before Sun appeared to hit a winner for a 30-15 lead. Gauff then spoke to the chair umpire, and a video review showed that the side panels surrounding the court flickered several times during the point, leading to it being replayed.
Gauff won the next three points to hold serve, then broke Sun to take a 6-5 lead. Sun was visibly emotional during the changeover and appeared to be crying. Gauff served out the set and dropped just one game in the second, breaking Sun four times, to set up a fourth-round meeting with Elise Mertens.
Social media response
After the match, Gauff replied to a racist post on social media, which now has limited visibility because it "may violate X's rules against Hateful Conduct". She wrote: "hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist. the amount of racist comments/dms I've received in the last few hours is insane. Lastly, I'm not a cheater or a thief."
Gauff also shared a screenshot of an explanation she posted on Instagram, in which she detailed her perspective on the incident. She said she saw the light flicker at the beginning of the point but was not sure, and raised her hands when it flickered again before Sun's shot, because she was then certain it was not her imagination.
She noted that players are told they may continue to finish play and that anything can be challenged after the point, as in most sports. She added that if she had lost the point, her opponent would have been free to ask for a replay and would have been "completely in her right to do so".
Gauff described the situation as unfortunate and out of her control, saying it was "ridiculous" to be called unfair for following the rules. She called Xinran Sun an "incredible talent and player", said she apologised to her at the end of the match, and that Sun "completely understood". Gauff added that she did not like seeing her opponent so emotional, as she has been in that position herself, and called it an honour to share the court in front of Sun's home crowd.
