After Defeating China's 16-Year-Old Rising Star at the China Open, Coco Gauff Faces 'Racism Bomb'... World No. 4 Outraged: "You Can Hate Me, But This Is Different"

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Coco Gauff (USA), ranked fourth in the women's tennis world rankings, was subjected to shocking racist attacks after competing in China.

Reuters reported on the 7th (Korean time) that "Gauff revealed she received 'unbelievable' racist attacks via social media after defeating local teenage player Sun Xinlan at the China Open."

Gauff is a world-renowned star representing women's tennis. Currently ranked fourth in the world, she is a top-tier player who has won two Grand Slam singles titles.

The controversy unfolded at the China Open held in Beijing, China.

On the 5th, Gauff defeated China's "16-year-old prospect" Sun Xinlan in a China Open singles match with a set score of 2-0 (7-5, 6-1).

However, one call made during the match triggered fierce backlash.

The issue arose at a critical moment in the first set. As Sun Xinlan was about to finish an attack, Gauff raised her hand to stop play. The reason was that the advertising board on the court was flickering and interfering with her play.

The chair umpire, who conducted video review, decided to replay the point.

Gauff won the replayed point and held her serve game to make it 5-5. She then took control of the momentum to secure the victory.

Since the opponent was a rising star receiving expectations from Chinese home fans, and the call at a critical moment favored Gauff, fierce backlash erupted online.

The bigger problem was that some of the criticism escalated into racism.

Gauff, who is Black, directly raised the issue through her social media.

In response to posts containing racist expressions, Gauff stated, "You may dislike me, and you may not agree with what happened in the match. But you should not be racist."

She continued, "The volume of racist comments and messages I have received over the past few hours is truly unbelievable," emphasizing, "Finally, I am neither a cheater nor a thief."

Gauff maintains that she acted according to the rules despite the controversy. According to reports, players can request video review for specific situations if they determine that external interference affected their play during a match.

Gauff also revealed that she spoke directly with Sun Xinlan after the match.

She said, "Sun Xinlan is a player with incredible talent. I apologized to her about this situation after the match, and she fully understood," adding, "I did not want to see her so emotionally distressed. I have had such experiences myself, so I know exactly how it feels."

She continued, encouraging her junior, "A wonderful career is just beginning for her. It was an honor to compete together in front of the home fans."

However, Gauff endured a difficult few days. Gauff lost to Elise Mertens (Belgium) 0-2 (3-6, 3-6) in the China Open round of 16 held on the 7th, resulting in her elimination.

Although Gauff had recorded five consecutive wins against Mertens previously, she faltered on this day, committing 34 unforced errors and 8 double faults.

After the match, Gauff confessed about the recent days, "Honestly, it was quite draining."

She continued, "I will turn off my Daejeon and move forward. There is nothing I can do."

Ultimately, Gauff withdrew from the Wuhan Open, which was scheduled after her loss to Mertens. Gauff, who was the champion of this tournament last year, cited fatigue as the reason, explaining that her body needed rest and recovery after enduring a long season.

Reuters explained, "The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is taking measures to respond to recent malicious online attacks on players, including introducing an artificial intelligence (AI)-based system," adding, "The system monitors posts and messages targeting thousands of players and related personnel on social media."

According to a survey conducted by the WTA and World Tennis, players were exposed to over 12,000 malicious posts and messages on social media in 2025. The outlet reported, "This is a significant increase from approximately 8,000 cases in the previous year."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original