Tennis-Gauff hits out at racist abuse after replayed point in Beijing sparks backlash

Coco Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion, expressed her frustration over racist abuse she received on social media following a match at the China Open. The incident occurred on Monday when Gauff beat local teenager Sun Xinran, 16, with a score of 7-5, 6-1. The match was disrupted when Gauff stopped play during a crucial moment in the first set, raising her hand to complain about a flickering advertisement board as Sun was about to score a winner.

After a video review, the umpire ordered the point to be replayed, which Gauff won, holding her serve at 5-5 before going on to win the match comfortably.

Gauff, who is Black, took to X to share her distress, stating that she had received an "insane" amount of abusive messages. She emphasized that one could dislike her stance or disagree with the incident but should not resort to racism. The WTA, the governing body of women's tennis, has been working on tackling online abuse by implementing an AI-powered system to monitor thousands of players and officials on social media.

However, a study by the WTA and World Tennis revealed that players were subjected to over 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social media in 2025, a significant increase from 8,000 posts in the previous year.

Gauff also clarified that she had followed the rules when challenging the point. Players are permitted to request video reviews of select judgment calls, including claims of a distraction interfering with play. Following the match, Gauff expressed her apologies to Sun and acknowledged her talent, stating that she had apologized at the end of the match. Despite the emotional state Sun was in, Gauff believed that this was the beginning of an incredibly promising career and shared the court with her home crowd as an honor.