Coco Gauff has responded to her “insane” online racist abuse following her controversial China Open win over home teenager Sun Xinran.
The American advanced to the fourth round on Monday by beating the 16-year-old Chinese player 7-5, 6-1 but then came under fire following a controversial call in the first set.
Gauff brought proceedings to a halt by raising her hand to protest at an advertising board which was flickering as Sun was about to execute a winner. Sun overruled the umpire on video review and replayed the point in which Gauff won the second rally before holding serve for 5-5.
The two-time Grand Slam champion received a racial abuse comment on social media.
“Dislike me or disagree on anything that occurred without you being racist,” Gauff wrote on X.
“what has me cracking up is the amount of racist comments/DMs I’ve gotten within the last couple hours.”
“Finally, I am not a thief or a liar.”
Gauff also explained her rationale behind challenging the point and revealed that players can also ask for a review of video footage in specific conditions where there may be a distraction.
The 22-year-old revealed she apologised to Sun after the game and that she believes he has a bright future.
” Xinran is one of the great talents and players and I said sorry to her at the end of the match and she completely understood,” Gauff said.
Women’s tennis has now launched an AI-powered online abuse monitor as the sport continues to face a rising tide of abuse directed at its players.
