Coco Gauff says she has been racially abused on social media after a disputed moment during her China Open victory over Sun Xinran.
The world number four beat the 16-year-old from China 7-5 6-1 to reach the last 16 in Beijing.
The controversy came with Gauff serving to stay in the first set at 4-5. Sun believed she had struck a winner, but the American had already raised her hand to stop the point because a light in the side panels around the court was flickering.
Gauff went on to take the next three points, holding serve for 5-5.
She dropped only one more game in the match.
The 22-year-old took to X to explain what had happened, saying: “It was an unfortunate situation but it is out of my control.
“Xinran is incredible talent and player, I apologised for the situation at the end of the match and she completely understood.”
Gauff then responded to a racist reply to her post by saying: “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 is aiming to finish the season on a high after multiple near misses in Grand Slam tournaments in 2026. She squandered a match point before losing in the Wimbledon semi-finals against Karolina Muchova, and then slipped to another tight three-set defeat against eventual champion Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals of last month’s US Open.
Gauff was also thrashed by the Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open quarter-finals, while she was knocked out of the French Open in the third round by Anastasia Potapova.
It has been a testing year for the American, but she did triumph at the Cincinnati Open in August to prove she can get over the line against the very best despite struggling to find her best form on a consistent basis.
Gauff will now looks to kick on in Beijing as she prepares to play Belgium’s Elise Mertens, with a spot in the quarter-finals at stake.
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