Coco Gauff has condemned a wave of racist abuse directed at her online following a controversial moment during her China Open victory over Chinese teenager Sun Xinran.
The American fourth seed defeated the 16-year-old 7-5, 6-1 in Beijing to reach the last 16, but faced intense criticism after stopping play during a crucial first-set rally.
Gauff raised her hand after noticing flickering electronic advertising boards around the court while Sun was preparing to hit a potential winner. The chair umpire reviewed the incident and ordered the point to be replayed.
Gauff won the replayed point and went on to take control of the match, winning nine of the final 10 games.
The incident triggered a backlash on social media, with Gauff revealing that she had received what she described as an “insane” amount of racist comments and direct messages.
The two-time Grand Slam champion insisted she had simply followed the rules and rejected accusations of cheating.
Gauff also praised Sun, who was making her WTA Tour debut after receiving a wildcard and recently winning the US Open junior title.
“I apologised for the situation at the end of the match and she completely understood,” Gauff said, expressing sympathy after seeing the teenager become emotional following the defeat.
A similar flickering advertising-board incident had occurred during Novak Djokovic’s match against Alexander Zverev at the same tournament, when a point was also replayed.
Gauff will now face Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the fourth round as she continues her China Open campaign.
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