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Beijing – Coco Gauff said she received a “horrendous” number of racist comments on social media after a controversial point in her China Open match against home player Sun Xinran.
Gauff called for a video review, prompting some boos from the crowd, after electronic billboards on the court line flashed at a late point in the first set of her 7-5, 6-1 third-round victory over Sun, the 16-year-old who recently won the US Open junior title.
“Hey everyone, you can like me or disagree with what happened without being racist,” Gauff, who is Black, said in response to X. “The amount of racist/dms comments I’ve received in the past few hours is crazy. Finally, I’m not a liar or a thief.”
It looked like Sun had won the point when Gauff stopped playing. The chairman umpire then ordered the point to be replayed.
Take, a two-time Grand Slam champion Number 4, went on to dominate the game on Monday.
“Xinran (is) an amazing talent and player, I apologized for the situation at the end of the game and she completely understood,” Gauff said in another post.
Sun, who was given a wild card by the tournament organizers and was making her WTA Tour debut, was visibly upset after the loss.
Gauff, who reached the fourth round of Wimbledon as a 15-year-old in 2019, commiserated with Sun.
“I hate to see her get so emotional because I’ve been there and I really understand what it’s like, but this is just the beginning of an amazing career,” Gauff said. “It was an honor to share the court in front of her home crowd.”
