Coco Gauff calls out online racism following China Open video review

American tennis star Coco Gauff, the world No. 4, expressed her outrage on Tuesday over the torrent of racist abuse she received online following a match at the China Open. The incident occurred during her singles match against 16-year-old Sun Xinran in Beijing, where Gauff requested a video review due to flickering LED lights. Some boos were heard from the crowd when she made the request.

Gauff wrote on social media platform X that she faced an "insane" amount of racist comments and messages in response to her actions. She urged fans to dislike her opinions without resorting to racism. The umpire agreed to replay the point, and Gauff went on to win the match 7-5, 6-1. Gauff clarified that she challenged the point after noticing the lights flicker a second time, stating that players are instructed to challenge points after play has ended.

She apologized to Sun for the situation at the end of the match, who understood her explanation. Gauff's post about receiving racist comments quickly gained traction, ranking as the sixth top trend on Chinese social media platform Weibo by Tuesday morning.