Coco Gauff says ‘insane’ wave of racist abuse followed disputed point at China Open

Coco Gauff said she received an “insane” amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in her China Open match against home player Sun Xinran.

Gauff stopped a rally after electronic advertising boards lining the court flickered during a point late in the first set of her 7-5, 6-1 third-round victory over Sun, a 16-year-old who recently won the US Open junior title.

“Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist,” Gauff, who is Black, said in a reply on X. “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.”

Sun appeared about to win the point when Gauff stopped playing. The chair umpire then ordered the point to be replayed. Gauff, a two-time grand slam champion ranked No 4, went on to take control of the match on Monday.

“I think it’s weird I’m getting hate for following the rules. Xinran is [an] incredible talent and player, I apologized for the situation at the end of the match and she completely understood,” Gauff added in another post.

Sun, who was given a wild-card entry by tournament organisers and was making her WTA Tour debut, appeared distraught after the loss. Gauff, who reached the fourth-round of Wimbledon as a 15-year-old in 2019, sympathised with Sun. “I did not like to see her so emotional as I’ve been there and I really understand what it is like but this is just the beginning of an incredible career,” Gauff said. “It was an honour to share the court in front of her home crowd.”

During a quarter-final match between Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic in the men’s draw on Sunday, the umpire also agreed to replay a point after Zverev complained about flickering panels. Gauff is due to play Elise Mertens in the last 16 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner confirmed on Tuesday that he will be out for the rest of the year due to an injured knee.

“On ‌the advice of his ‌medical team, Jannik Sinner will follow a course of treatment for inflammation in his knee,” his ‌team said in a statement. “The decision has been ​made to have the treatment now to give Jannik the necessary ⁠time to recover before beginning ​preparations ​for 2027. As ​a result, Jannik ​will ‌be unable ​to ​compete again during the 2026 season.”