Beijing, Oct 8:
American tennis star Coco Gauff said a wave of racist abuse directed at her online following a disputed incident at the China Open had been “draining” as she exited the tournament after losing to Belgium’s Elise Mertens in straight sets.
Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Mertens in the last 16 on Wednesday. She said the online abuse had affected her mentally, although she did not blame the defeat entirely on the incident. “It has been kind of draining, I’m not going to lie. I just turn off my phone and move on. There’s nothing you can do,” Gauff said after the match.
The controversy began during Gauff’s match against Chinese teenager Sun Xinran earlier in the tournament. Late in the first set, Sun appeared to have hit a winner, but Gauff raised her hand to stop play after being distracted by flickering lights from advertising boards around the stadium. The umpire agreed that the point should be replayed, and Gauff went on to win the match 7-5, 6-1.
The incident triggered a large amount of abuse on social media. Gauff later described the volume of racist messages as “insane” and rejected suggestions that she had cheated. She also clarified that she had stopped the point before Sun returned the ball because she had noticed the lights flickering for a second time.
The Women’s Tennis Association said it was “appalled” by the racial abuse directed at Gauff and said it was in contact with the player to offer support.
Gauff acknowledged that she was not at her best against Mertens. She hit eight double faults and made 34 unforced errors during the match. She also told her team during the contest that she had no energy and felt as though she might pass out. However, she said she believed the immediate reason for the defeat was her performance on court and credited Mertens for playing well on the important points.
Mertens advanced to the quarter-finals, where she will face eighth seed Iga Swiatek. The Polish player defeated American Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-3 in her last-16 match.