American tennis star Coco Gauff revealed on social media that she received an insane volume of racist direct messages following her China Open victory against home player Sun Xinran. The controversy began during the first set when Gauff stopped a rally because an electronic advertising board flickered, a maneuver permitted under rules allowing players to seek reviews for on-court distractions.
Gauff won that disputed point, held serve to make it 5-5, and ultimately closed out the first set before defeating the 16-year-old Sun in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1. Responding to a racially abusive reply on X, formerly Twitter, the two-time Grand Slam champion wrote that individuals could dislike her without resorting to racism, adding that she was neither a cheater nor a thief.
Gauff explained in a separate post that Sun is an incredible talent, noting that she apologized for the situation at the end of the match and that her opponent completely understood. A July report from Signify Group's threat matrix previously highlighted that female tennis players faced more than 12,000 abusive posts and online messages last year.