{
  "id": 12594963,
  "title": "Coco Gauff felt like she was ‘going to pass out’ during China Open loss to Elise Mertens",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/coco-gauff-felt-like-she-was-going-to-pass-out-during-china-open-loss",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-07T09:31:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/coco-gauff-felt-she-going-093105238.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "During a grueling match at the China Open, teenage sensation Coco Gauff appeared to be on the brink of exhaustion, to the point where she feared she might faint during her loss to Elise Mertens. The 22-year-old American had been struggling throughout the fourth-round contest, suffering one of her first straight-set defeats since February. Despite her best efforts, Gauff could not match the formidable Belgian No. 13 seed, who overpowered the American with a 6-3, 6-3 victory. Gauff's camp reported that she felt drained, stating that she could not see the ball clearly and feared she would pass out mid-game. The match had been particularly challenging for Gauff as she had already faced an additional hurdle - an overwhelming amount of racist abuse she received prior to the match following her victory over a young home hopeful. Her raw energy and skill were clearly diminished, ultimately leading to her defeat. Mertens, meanwhile, advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament, where she will face another rising star, Iga Świątek. Gauff, on the other hand, has her sights set on the Wuhan Open, where she hopes to defend her title.",
  "summary": "It started with a shot that Coco Gauff just doesn’t miss. After seven close games in her China Open fourth-round match against Elise Mertens, Gauff found herself down a break. Mertens was serving with a 4-3, 30-15 lead, but Gauff worked her way into a point and moved into the net for a routine overhead. Put it away and it would be 4-3, 30-30. Gauff would have an opportunity to put pressure on the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Rennae Stubbs calls for rule change after Daniil Medvedev is defaulted at the China Open, ‘I don’t understand’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/rennae-stubbs-calls-for-rule-change-after-daniil-medvedev-is",
        "published": "2026-10-06T23:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}