A Flickering Light Sparks Controversy
Coco Gauff's 7-5, 6-1 victory over 16-year-old Sun Xinran at the China Open in Beijing should have been a straightforward story of a seasoned champion dispatching a promising young opponent. Instead, a single moment in the first set spiraled into something far uglier off the court. With Gauff serving at 4-5 and needing to hold, Sun appeared to have struck a winner, but Gauff had already raised her hand to stop play. The reason: a flickering light in the side panels surrounding the court was causing a distraction. Gauff held that service game to level at 5-5, then dominated the rest of the match, dropping just one more game.
Afterward, Gauff took to social media platform X to give a detailed account of what happened, calling it an "unfortunate situation" that was beyond her control. She also noted that Sun fully accepted her apology at the end of the match, describing the teenager as "incredible talent."
Racist Abuse Follows a Tennis Dispute
Despite that explanation, a torrent of racist comments and direct messages hit Gauff's inbox within hours. She responded directly to one such reply, writing that people were welcome to disagree with her actions, but that there was no justification for racist language. She was emphatic in rejecting accusations of dishonesty, stating plainly that she is neither a cheater nor a thief.
This incident fits a troubling wider pattern on the women's tour. A report released earlier this year found that female players received more than 12,000 abusive social media posts and messages during 2026, prompting the WTA and World Tennis to call for collective action. Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion, is among the sport's biggest names, yet even her platform offered no protection from this kind of hostility. TennisDraw users had Gauff as one of the most-backed players to go deep in Beijing, and her run continues despite the off-court ugliness.
