Coco Gauff has publicly addressed a controversial moment from her China Open third-round victory, rejecting accusations of cheating while condemning a wave of racist abuse directed at her online.

In response, the two-time Grand Slam champion posted on X.

“Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist. 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."

The American defeated 16-year-old Chinese qualifier Sun Xinran 7-5, 6-1 on Monday to reach the round of 16 in Beijing. The match turned contentious late in the first set when Gauff, serving at 4-5 and 15-15, raised her hand to stop a long rally just as Sun appeared set to hit a winner. 

Gauff cited flickering LED advertising boards along the side of the court as a hindrance in her X post. After a video review, the chair umpire agreed and ordered the point replayed. Gauff won the replayed point, held serve, and closed out the set before dominating the second.

The decision immediately drew criticism from some viewers who felt Gauff had waited until the point was nearly lost before intervening. Online reaction quickly escalated beyond disagreement over the rules, with Gauff receiving a significant volume of racist comments and direct messages.

She followed with a more detailed explanation of the incident on Threads, noting that players are instructed they may continue a point and still request a review afterward. Gauff said she had noticed the boards flicker earlier in the rally but wasn't certain until it happened again, at which point she raised her hand before Sun struck the ball. 

Gauff breaks silence about Xinran

Gauff also expressed regret over the emotional impact on Sun, who appeared distressed during the changeover. "

“Xinran is an incredible talent and player. I apologized for the situation at the end of the match, and she completely understood," Gauff said in the same Threads post. "I did not like to see her so emotional, as I've been there and I really understand what it is like, but this is just the beginning of an incredible career. It was an honor to share the court in front of her home crowd."

The 16-year-old Sun, a recent US Open junior champion, had pushed Gauff in the opening set and briefly held the lead. The interruption and replay visibly affected her composure, and cameras captured her emotional reaction. 

Gauff’s public acknowledgment of that distress, combined with her insistence that she had simply followed the hindrance rules, framed the episode as unfortunate but within the bounds of competition rather than any intentional gamesmanship.

Do you think the hindrance rule needs clearer guidelines on timing to avoid controversy like this in the future?

Written by

Zaid Quraishi