Coco Gauff: 'Insane' amount of racist comments after match

Coco Gauff’s third‑round victory over 16‑year‑old Sun Xinran at the Beijing China Open was decided by a single, rule‑book moment that quickly turned into a flashpoint beyond the baseline. While serving 4‑5 down in the first set, Gauff saw the LED advertising boards flicker and raised her hand to stop the rally. Gauff won the replay, held serve to level the set and ultimately prevailed 7‑5, 6‑1, advancing to the round of 16.

Within hours Gauff posted on X, "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." The terse reply was prompted by a user who had attached a racial slur to a criticism of her decision. Similar messages flooded her inbox, echoing a pattern the WTA has already quantified: a 2025 study by the WTA and World Tennis recorded more than 12,000 abusive posts aimed at players, up from 8,000 the year before. The league’s new AI‑driven monitoring system now flags toxic language in real time, but its impact on curbing hate remains to be proven.

The rulebook explicitly allows a let when "a player is hindered by an event outside of her control (e.g., ball rolling onto the court, paper blowing onto the court)." The flickering light, caused by a sudden change in a sponsorship display, fit that description. Open junior title, was visibly upset as the point was replayed.

The fallout reverberates through Gauff’s own season narrative. After a disappointing series of Grand Slam semi‑final exits – Wimbledon to Karolina Muchova, the US Open to Elena Rybakina, and earlier defeats in Australia and Paris – Beijing offered a chance to capture a second WTA title after her Cincinnati triumph in August. The episode, however, underscores how performance and off‑court battles are now intertwined.

As Gauff prepares to face Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the next round, the episode serves as a stark reminder that a player’s “follow‑the‑rules” call can trigger cultural flashpoints far beyond the sport’s technical arena. Whether the WTA’s monitoring tools will evolve quickly enough to protect its stars, and whether fans in host countries will develop a deeper understanding of the hindrance rule, remain open questions. What is clear is that the episode has added fuel to an ongoing conversation about race, respect, and the digital age of tennis, with Gauff’s response positioning her not just as a champion on court but as a vocal advocate against online hate.

Sun, despite the loss, was praised by Gauff as “incredible talent,” and her composure after the match suggests a resilience that could bode well for China’s future presence on the WTA tour.

In the end, the replayed point was a legal call; the online rage was a social one.