Coco Gauff is the defending China Open champion, and her third-round match against 16-year-old Sun Xinran should have been a highlight reel. Instead, it turned into a mess she didn’t create. A flickering advertising board distracted Gauff mid-match, she flagged it to the chair umpire, and after a video review the point was ordered replayed. Gauff won that point, held serve for 5-5, took the first set 7-5, and closed it out 6-1.
Then came the messages. Gauff says she received an“insane”volume of racist abuse online, and she responded directly on X.“You can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist,”she wrote, adding that players are allowed to request video reviews for distractions. She also made it clear where she stands:“Lastly, I’m not a cheater or a thief.”What went largely unnoticed was that Gauff apologized to Sun after the match, and the teenager understood completely.
The WTA has an AI-powered system monitoring social media abuse aimed at players, but even that tool struggles to keep pace with the volume. That’s the frustrating part here. A procedural call, a rule that exists for a reason, and a champion who showed sportsmanship, all buried under a wave of attacks that had nothing to do with tennis. Where do you think the line should be between criticizing a call and crossing into abuse?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
