Coco Gauff opened up about the emotional toll that the wave of racist messages took on her after she suffered an unexpected defeat to Belgium's Elise Mertens at the China Open, a tournament that also saw Iga Swiatek advance to the quarter‑finals. Merters halted Gauff's recent slump by clinching a straight‑sets victory, 6-3 6-3, securing her first win in six matches and propelling herself into the Beijing quarter‑finals on Wednesday. The American's loss came on the heels of what she described as an "insane" flood of racist comments on social media, triggered by a contentious point in the previous round.
While trailing 6-3, 4-1, Gauff confessed to her team, "I have no energy. I'm trying, I have no energy. I can't see the ball, I feel like I'm going to pass out. I'm going to just try to finish the match." Her words reflected both physical fatigue and the mental strain of dealing with hateful online abuse.
Earlier in the tournament, Gauff faced 16‑year‑old Chinese wildcard Sun Xinran. In a dramatic moment, Gauff was serving to stay in the first set at 4‑5 when Sun appeared to have struck a winner. However, Gauff raised her hand to halt the point after noticing a flickering light on the side panels of the court.
The chair umpire ordered the point to be replayed. Gauff then won the next three points to level the set at 5‑5 and ultimately dropped only one more game, eventually taking the match. When reporters asked Gauff in Beijing whether the barrage of abusive messages had affected her play, she answered candidly, "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.
I think today I was just a bit flat. I just didn't play well. I think I wasn't moving well.
There were a lot of things I didn't do well." The 22‑year‑old tried to put the incident in perspective on the social‑media platform X, stating, "It was an unfortunate situation but it is out of my control. Xinran is an incredible talent and player, I apologized for the situation at the end of the match and she completely understood." Gauff also responded to a racist reply to her post, urging people to express disagreement without resorting to hate. She wrote, "Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist.
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." Statistically, Gauff's performance was below her usual standards.
She accumulated 34 unforced errors, while Mertens served with remarkable efficiency, winning 10 of her last 11 service points and sealing the match with a second‑ace. After the win, Mertens praised her opponent, saying, "She's an incredible player, of course. I knew it was going to be a very tough match. But I had motivation.
My coach/boyfriend, it's his birthday tomorrow. So this win is dedicated to him and all the work we do." Following the China Open, Gauff withdrew from the Wuhan Masters 1000, citing fatigue and the need for recovery after a grueling season.
In a statement she expressed disappointment, noting, "I'm disappointed to withdraw from Wuhan, especially as the defending champion. I always love playing there. After a long year, my body needs some time to rest and recover. I look forward to returning next year." Looking ahead, Gauff is slated to represent the United States in the Billie Jean King Cup in November, where the American team will face Hungary on November 21‑22 in Delray Beach.
The tournament also featured Iga Swiatek, who dismantled 18‑year‑old American Iva Jovic with a 6-1 6-3 victory, breaking Jovic's serve twice in the final four games. Swiatek, a six‑time Grand Slam champion who has experienced some inconsistency this season, will next meet Mertens. Reflecting on her own form, Swiatek said, "For sure today I was using more of the chances that I got. I was more proactive.
Maybe changing the directions more instead of just being solid, more intense. When I needed that, I could play long rallies and be in defence as well. Everything was working today. I feel like my game has improved." Swiatek added, "Obviously sometimes playing the tournament is a bit tricky.
Not everything is depending on you. I believe what I'm doing makes sense moving forward. That gives me the most confidence. For sure when you have great results on a match, it's always a good boost of confidence.
But tennis is tough. You need to be ready for every match. Your previous results are not going to give you anything. I'm going to push no matter what and we'll see how it goes." In other news from the Asian swing, Britain's No.
1 Arthur Fery secured a notable victory over former Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic at the Shanghai Masters, winning 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 and earning a second‑round matchup against Karen Khachanov. Fery, who reached the Wimbledon semi‑finals earlier in the summer, demonstrated that his game is continuing to mature on the ATP Tour.
The China Open and Shanghai Masters continue to be broadcast on various platforms, with live streams available through services such as NOW and the Sky Sports app, allowing fans worldwide to follow the action without a traditional contract.