Coco Gauff Slams Racist Abuse After China Open Win
Coco Gauff is speaking out after a wave of racist comments followed her second-round win at the 2026 China Open in Beijing, according to justwomenssports.com. The No. 3 seed defeated 16-year-old Sun Xinran 7-5, 6-1 on Monday.
"The amount of racist comments/dms I've received in the last few hours is insane," Gauff wrote on social media.
"You can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist."
She continued: "I think it's weird I'm getting hate for following the rules. It was an unfortunate situation but it is out of my control. I'm not a cheater or a thief."
The abuse followed a disputed point in the first set. With Gauff serving down 4-5, LED signage behind Sun flickered mid-rally, and after video review the chair umpire ruled it a hindrance under WTA rules, ordering a replay. Gauff won the point, held serve, and pulled away in the second set.
THE DISPUTED POINT
The trouble began at 4-5 in the opener, with Gauff serving to stay in the set. Mid-rally, the LED signage behind Sun flickered just as the 16-year-old looked to have closed out the point with a winner.
Under WTA rules, the chair umpire reviewed the video and ruled the flickering a hindrance, ordering a replay rather than awarding the point to Sun. Gauff won the replay, held serve to level the set at five-all, then ran away with the second set to seal the match.
The call itself was not the only thing that drew attention. It triggered a flood of racist messages and DMs aimed at Gauff on social media, even though the teenager on the other side of the net had no issue with the ruling.
Sun told Gauff afterward that she "completely understood" the decision, per justwomenssports.com. That did not stop the online abuse, which Gauff addressed directly in her social media post.
The sequence — a flickering sign, a video review, a replayed point — became the flashpoint for the backlash that followed her second-round win.
THE NUMBERS AND CONTEXT
The numbers behind the moment are simple: Gauff is the No. 3 seed at the 2026 China Open, and she won her second-round match 7-5, 6-1 against 16-year-old Sun Xinran on Monday.
Gauff is 22 years old and arrived in Beijing with real momentum. She is coming off her Cincinnati Open title in August, which adds weight to her campaign as the tournament's top-three seed.
The win over Sun was her first test of the week, and the straight-sets scoreline hides how tight the opening set became before the disputed point turned it. Gauff dropped the first set's early exchanges, served down 4-5, and then reeled off the next eight games to close the match.
That run — from 4-5 down in the opener to a 6-1 second set — is the cleanest measure of how she responded under the spotlight of a controversial call.
Up next is No. 13 seed Elise Mertens in the Round of 16. It is a step up in opposition for Gauff, who will carry both the Cincinnati title and the noise of this week's online abuse into that match.
The draw gives her a clear path if she holds her level, but the 22-year-old's focus this week is as much on shutting out the distractions as it is on the tennis itself.
PRAISE FOR SUN
Amid the controversy, Gauff made clear her respect for the player across the net. She had warm words for Sun's poise during and after the match, per justwomenssports.com.
"I think it's weird I'm getting hate for following the rules," Gauff continued in her social media post on October 5, 2026. "It was an unfortunate situation but it is out of my control. I'm not a cheater or a thief."
Gauff also predicted fans would see plenty more of Sun in the future. That prediction carried weight from a 22-year-old No. 3 seed who knows what it takes to rise quickly on tour.
The teenager's reaction only deepened Gauff's praise. Sun told Gauff afterward that she "completely understood" the umpire's decision, even as the online abuse mounted in the hours that followed.
That detail — the opponent herself accepting the ruling — undercuts the worst of the backlash. Sun's composure, both during the replay and in her private words to Gauff, stood in sharp contrast to the noise flooding social media.
For Gauff, the exchange was a reminder of what the match was actually about. Two players competing under WTA rules, one of them 16 and handling a fraught moment with maturity beyond her years.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Gauff's focus now shifts to the Round of 16, where she faces No. 13 seed Elise Mertens at the 2026 China Open. The match follows her second-round win over Sun Xinran on Monday, though the date and time of the meeting have not been confirmed.
Mertens presents a stiff test for the No. 3 seed, who is riding the momentum of her Cincinnati Open title in August. That hard-court form carried her through the early rounds in Beijing, and she will look to keep that run alive against the Belgian.
The backdrop of the racist abuse she condemned this week adds another layer to the matchup. Gauff has already shown she can block out the noise, winning her opener despite the controversy that followed. Now she faces a seeded opponent with a chance to push deeper into the tournament.
Beijing has been a proving ground for Gauff before, and her recent title run suggests she arrives in form. Mertens will have her own plans, but Gauff's serve — the very shot at the center of Monday's disputed point — will be key.
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