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Coco Gauff expressed that she felt drained by racist abuse on social media following her match against Elise Mertens at the China Open, where she lost 6-3, 6-3. Earlier in the tournament, Gauff faced criticism from some spectators and online trolls after requesting a let during a point due to flickering lights affecting her concentration during her match against Sun Xinran; she had won that match 7-5, 6-1. The Women’s Tennis Association condemned the racial abuse directed at Gauff and offered support.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Coco Gauff, a 22-year-old American tennis star ranked No. 4, faced racial abuse on social media after stopping play during her match at the China Open against Chinese teenager Sun Xinran due to flickering LED boards. The incident occurred when Gauff, trailing 5-4 in the first set, raised her hand to halt play upon noticing the lights flicker again; this led to a video review and a replay of the point. Despite some boos from the crowd, Gauff won that critical point and ultimately the match 7-6, 6-1. In response to racist messages on social media, Gauff posted: "Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist." She condemned the abuse as "insane" and clarified she is "not a cheater or a thief." The Women's Tennis Association expressed their support for Gauff after her loss in the next round to Elise Mertens.
Written for “Coco Gauff Racist Abuse” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning: leans left for article 62698 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-07
Claims extracted
23
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
4%
1 of 23 hedged
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Correction & hedging signals
59.8
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
7
Sports
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Coco Gauff said she had been left drained by the racist abuse she experienced during the China Open after losing in the last 16 to Elise Mertens.
asserted
she → say → Mertens
The American was dismayed earlier this week after an incident during her match against Chinese teenager Sun Xinran.
asserted
American → dismay → Xinran
The 16-year-old thought she had hit a winner late in the first set but Gauff had raised her hand to stop the point because she was distracted by flickering lights on the stadium’s advertising hoardings.
asserted
she → think → hoardings
The move prompted some boos from the crowd.
asserted
move → prompt → crowd
The umpire agreed to have the point replayed, and Gauff went on to win 7-5, 6-1.
asserted
Gauff → agree → ?
On social media, Gauff called out the “insane” amount of racist messages she had received after the match, adding: “I’m not a cheater or a thief.”
asserted
I → call → match
Gauff also clarified that she challenged the point before Sun had returned the ball, when she noticed the lights flicker for a second time.
asserted
lights → clarify → time
Asked about the incident, a spokesperson for the Women’s Tennis Association said it was “appalled by the racial abuse directed at Coco Gauff and are in contact with her to offer our full support”.
asserted
it → ask → support
Gauff was far from her best on Wednesday against Mertens, hitting eight double faults and 34 unforced errors overall in a 6-3, 6-3 defeat.
asserted
Gauff → hit → defeat
Gauff, who has an excellent record in China, was asked by reporters in Beijing whether she had been affected by the abuse.
asserted
she → have → abuse
“It has been kind of draining, I’m not going to lie.
asserted
I → go → ?
I just turn off my phone and move on.
asserted
I → turn → phone
There’s nothing you can do,” she said.
asserted
she → ’ → ?
“I think today I was just a bit flat.
asserted
I → think → ?
I just didn’t play well.
asserted
I → play → ?
I think I wasn’t moving well.
asserted
I → think → ?
There were a lot of things I didn’t do well.”
asserted
I → be → things
During the match, she told her team that she had “no energy” and felt as though she might pass out.
uncertain
she → tell → energy
“I think I just didn’t play well,” Gauff said.
asserted
Gauff → think → ?
“I think I wasn’t moving well.
asserted
I → think → ?
There were a lot of things I didn’t do well.
asserted
I → be → things
I thought Elise played well on the big points, made me play a big ball, yeah.
asserted
me → think → ball
Mertens will face eighth seed Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals after the No 8 seed defeated American Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-3.
asserted
seed → face → Jovic
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