China Open 2026 — Gauff describes abuse as ‘draining’ after Mertens defeat

Coco Gauff was defeated by Elise Mertens in straight sets. | Photo Credit: AFP

Coco Gauff said online racist abuse had left her feeling exhausted after she went out of the China Open with her loss to Elise Mertens on Wednesday.

The American world number four, who is Black, turned in an uncharacteristically listless performance in Beijing, double-faulting eight times as she went down 6-3, 6-3 to her Belgian opponent.

Gauff, 22, was playing a day after she called out the “insane” amount of abuse she had received on the internet following her win over Chinese teenager Sun Xinran in the previous round.

“It has been kind of draining. I’m not going to lie,” Gauff said of the impact of the online comments.

“But I just turn off my phone and move on. There’s nothing you can do.”

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Asked about the match, she said: “I think I just didn’t play well. I think I wasn’t moving well.

“There were a lot of things I didn’t do well. I thought Elise played well on the bigger points.”

During her previous match in Beijing, against Sun, Gauff requested a video review over flickering LED lights on the stadium’s advertising hoardings.

The move prompted some boos from the crowd. The umpire agreed to have the point replayed, and Gauff went on to win 7-5, 6-1.

Early on Tuesday, Gauff wrote on X: “Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist.”

She was responding to a post that contained a racial slur.

“The amount of racist comments and messages I’ve received in the last few hours is insane,” she wrote.