Coco Gauff said she received an ‘insane’ amount of racist abuse online following her match at the China Open on Monday that involved a video replay incident.
The world No.4 was taking on Chinese 16-year-old Sun Xinran, who she defeated 7-5, 6-1. During the first set, Gauff was down 4-5, and on a point, she raised her hand because of a flickering light in the background that she believed was a hindrance. At the time she raised her hand, Sun believed she had won the point by hitting a cross-court winner. A video replay then ruled in Gauff’s favour. The point was then replayed with the American winning it before holding for 5-5.
Under the current rules, players can request a replay even after the point has finished. In Gauff’s case, it was clearly visible that the electronic advertising boards on both sides of the court changed during the rally.
“I saw it flicker in the beginning of the point but was not sure if that is what I actually saw,” Gauff later said in a social media post.
“When it flickered again I raised my hands before she hit her shot because this is when I was sure I saw the light flicker and it wasn’t my mind doing tricks.
“It was an unfortunate situation but it is out of my control and calling me unfair is ridiculous when those are the rules. I did not make them,
“Xinran is an incredible talent and player, I apologized for the situation at the end of the match and she completely understood.”
Following her lengthy social media post about the incident, she hit back at racist insults that were being directed towards her online. Responding to one shocking comment, which featured the N-word, Gauff spoke about the level of abuse she has received.
“You can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist,” she wrote.
“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.”
It is not the first time a player has spoken about online abuse, which has been a significant problem in the sport in recent years. In 2025, a study by the WTA and World Tennis found more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages were directed at players, 4,000 more than the previous year.
Gauff won the China Open in 2024 and is the highest-ranked player remaining in this year’s tournament following the departures of Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka. She will play Elise Mertens in the fourth round.
