Gauff in racial abuse controversy at China Open after replayed point | Tennis

Coco Gauff was targeted online after stopping play during a crucial point in the first set against China’s Sun Xinran.

Coco Gauff says she has received an “insane” amount of racial abuse on social media after the two-time Grand Slam champion beat local teenager Sun Xinran at the China Open in a third-round match, where a replayed point prompted an online backlash.

The American tennis star won 7-5, 6-1 to reach the fourth round, but was targeted after stopping play during a crucial point in the first set, raising her hand to complain about a flickering advertising board just as Sun was about to put away a winner.

After a video review, the umpire ordered a replay. Gauff won the replayed point and held serve for 5-5 before cruising to victory against the 16-year-old Chinese.

Gauff said she had received a barrage of abusive messages on social media after the match.

“You can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist,” Gauff, who is Black, said on X early on Tuesday in reply to a post containing a racial slur.

“The amount of racist comments/direct messages I’ve received in the last few hours is insane.

“Lastly, I’m not a cheater or a thief.”

The WTA has made efforts to tackle the issue of online abuse by introducing an AI-powered system which monitors thousands of players and officials on social media.

A study by the WTA and World Tennis showed players were subjected to more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social media in 2025, up from 8,000 posts a year earlier.

Gauff also explained that she was following the rules when she challenged the point. Players are allowed to request video reviews of select judgement calls, including claims a distraction may have interfered with play.

The 22-year-old said she had spoken to Sun about the point at the end of the match.

“Xinran’s an incredible talent and player, I apologised for the situation at the end of the match and she completely understood,” she wrote.

“I didn’t like to see her so emotional as I’ve been there and I really understand what it’s like but this is the beginning of an incredible career. It was an honour to share the court in front of her home crowd.”