Coco Gauff faces racist online abuse after China Open point stop
Coco Gauff reported receiving racial abuse on social media following a match incident at the China Open in Beijing on Monday 5 October 2026.
Match outcome and controversy
The American player defeated Sun Xinran with a score of 7-5 6-1 to advance to the last 16. During the first set, Gauff halted play while serving at 4-5 because a light flickered near the side panels. She won the following three points to hold for 5-5 before dropping only one more game in the match.
Gauff explains the stoppage
The world number four stated that the situation was unfortunate but beyond her control. She apologized to Sun Xinran, who accepted the explanation and understood the reason for the interruption. Gauff noted that she is not a cheater or a thief regarding the incident.
Response to online comments
Gauff told her followers that people can disagree with her actions without using racist language. She described the volume of hateful direct messages received in the last few hours as insane. The WTA and World Tennis have previously called for collective action to address abuse against female players.
All 2 outlets report consistently
No differences in figures, names or dates across these reports.
- Sky Sports
- BBC News
Reported by
2 independent outlets. Headlines as published. Links open the original report.