Coco Gauff says she received ‘insane’ amount of racist comments after replayed point at China Open

Coco Gauff said she received an “insane” amount of racist comments on social media after controversy over a replayed point in her China Open victory over Sun Xinran.

Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion ranked No. 4, won the third-round match Monday, 7-5, 6-1. Late in the first set, she stopped a rally when electronic advertising boards around the court flickered. Sun, a 16-year-old who recently won the U.S. Open junior title, appeared about to win the point. The chair umpire ordered it replayed. Gauff sought a video review, which drew some boos from the crowd.

Gauff was serving at 4-5 when it happened, according to Sky Sports. She won the next three points to hold for 5-5 and dropped just one more game the rest of the match.

Afterward, Gauff addressed the reaction in posts on X.

“Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist,” Gauff, who is Black, wrote in a reply. She said the volume of racist comments and direct messages she had received over the previous few hours was “insane,” and added that she is not a cheater or a thief.

Gauff also called the episode an “unfortunate situation” that was out of her control. In another post, she praised Sun as an incredible talent and said she apologized to her at the end of the match and that Sun completely understood.

Sun, who received a wild-card entry from tournament organizers and was making her WTA Tour debut, appeared distraught after the loss. Gauff, who reached the fourth round of Wimbledon at 15 in 2019, said she did not like seeing Sun so emotional because she has been in that position herself. She called the loss the beginning of what she expects to be an incredible career for Sun and said it was an honor to share the court with her in front of her home crowd.