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American tennis star Coco Gauff says she has been subjected to a wave of racist abuse online following a controversial moment during her China Open victory over 16-year-old Chinese player Sun Xinran.
Coco Gauff has revealed that she received racist messages and comments on social media after an incident during her straight-sets victory over China’s Sun Xinran at the China Open in Beijing.
The world number four was serving at 4-5 in the opening set when Sun appeared to believe she had hit a winning shot.
However, Gauff stopped play after noticing a flickering light in the panels surrounding the court.
Under tennis rules, players can request a review when they believe an external hindrance or distraction has affected a point.
The point was replayed and Gauff eventually won it, holding serve to level the set at 5-5 before going on to take the opening set 7-5.
The American then dominated the second set, dropping only one game to complete a 7-5, 6-1 victory and advance to the last 16.
Gauff Responds to Online Abuse
Following the match, Gauff explained the incident in detail in a post on X, describing it as an unfortunate situation that was outside her control.
She also said Sun had understood what happened and accepted her apology.
However, Gauff later responded to a social media post containing racist language directed at her.
“You can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist,” Gauff wrote.
She added that she had received an alarming number of racist comments and direct messages following the incident.
“The amount of racist comments/direct messages I’ve received in the last few hours is insane,” Gauff said.
She also rejected suggestions that she had acted dishonestly during the match.
“Lastly, I’m not a cheater or a thief,” she added.
WTA Players Face Growing Online Abuse
Gauff’s experience highlights a wider problem facing professional women’s tennis, with players increasingly targeted by abusive and offensive content on social media.
A report published earlier this year found that female tennis players were subjected to more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages during 2025.
The WTA and World Tennis have previously called for greater collective efforts to tackle online abuse directed at players.
Gauff’s latest experience comes as tennis continues to grapple with the challenge of protecting players from harassment while maintaining open interaction between athletes and fans online.
Despite the controversy, the 22-year-old remained focused on her campaign in Beijing, producing a dominant performance after the disputed opening-set incident to secure her place in the last 16.
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