Coco Gauff said she was bombarded by an "insane" amount of racist comments on social media after winning a controversial point at the China Open on Monday in Beijing.
The US tennis star halted a first-set rally with 16-year-old Chinese hopeful Sun Xinran after the electronic advertising boards along the court flickered during play. After Sun appeared to win the point, the chair umpire ordered it to be replayed.
Gauff went on to win the third-round match 7-5, 6-1 against Sun, who won the US Open junior title this summer, but said she soon was inundated with racially charged comments.
"Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist," Gauff, who is Black, said in a reply on X. "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."
