Coco Gauff described the online abuse she received during the 2026 China Open as “draining” after her exit at the WTA 1000 tournament.

The world No 4 was upset 6-3, 6-3 by 19th-ranked Elise Mertens in the fourth round in Beijing on Wednesday.

Gauff was the target of racist abuse on social media following a contentious video review incident during her 7-5, 6-1 third round win against 16-year-old Chinese wildcard Xinran Sun.

In response to a racist comment on X/Twitter, Gauff wrote: “Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist.

“The amount of racist comments/dms I’ve received in the last few hours is insane. Lastly, I’m not a cheater or a thief.”

Here is everything Gauff said in her post-match discussion with reporters after losing to Mertens in the Chinese capital.

Q. What do you think would have made the difference today?

GAUFF: I think I just didn’t play well. I think I wasn’t moving well. There were a lot of things I didn’t do well. I thought Elise played well on the big points, made me play a big ball, yeah.

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Q. How would you sum up your China Open this year?

GAUFF: I mean, obviously a bit disappointing, the result today. I had two good matches. Yeah, I mean, I always enjoy playing here.

Q. Obviously you had to respond to some hateful things that were said online. What have the last 36 hours looked like for you, if you want to say something?

GAUFF: I mean, it has been kind of draining, I’m not going to lie. I just turn off my phone and move on. I mean, there’s nothing you can do.

Q. In terms of getting back onto the practice court, preparing the rest of the season, what are the things you think you and your team are going to focus on?

GAUFF: I think just getting rest. I think today I was just a bit flat. That’s the main thing. I mean, the two matches that I did play here, or three matches because I guess this one counts, the first two I felt I was a bit more engaged. I thought they were a good level. Today the level was there at some points, I just didn’t sustain it the whole match.

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