Coco Gauff Advances at China Open After Beating Sun Xinran Amid Racist Abuse

Coco Gauff’s China Open victory over 16-year-old wildcard Sun Xinran should have been remembered as another impressive comeback from the world No. 4 and an encouraging showing from one of China’s brightest young players.

Instead, a disputed replay late in the first set became the story, and criticism of Gauff quickly descended into racist abuse.

Gauff defeated Sun 7-5, 6-1 in Beijing, winning nine of the final 10 games to reach the round of 16. The controversy came with Gauff serving at 4-5 in the opening set. Electronic advertising panels beside the court flickered during the rally. Sun appeared to have struck a winner, but Gauff challenged the point after the electronic advertising panels flickered during the rally. Officials ultimately ordered the point replayed.  

Gauff went on to hold for 5-5, broke Sun in the next game and took control of the match.

Afterward, Gauff explained that she initially noticed the boards flickering but was unsure what she had seen. Players had been told they could finish a point and then challenge a potential hindrance. When the lights flickered again, she raised her hands before Sun completed her shot.

Gauff did not invent the rule, nor did she have the authority to award herself a replay. Officials reviewed what happened and made that decision.

There is certainly room to debate whether tennis should handle these situations differently. But accusing Gauff of cheating for using a review procedure available to both players is difficult to square with what actually happened.

And once criticism shifted from questioning the call to attacking Gauff because she is Black, any legitimate sporting debate was over.

Gauff said she received an “insane” number of racist comments and direct messages, adding: “I’m not a cheater or a thief.”  

It is particularly ugly because Gauff has spent years building a reputation as one of tennis’s more measured young stars. Yet Black women in sport repeatedly seem to receive far less room for disagreement, frustration or assertiveness before their character itself becomes the issue. People are free to debate whether a player’s actions amount to gamesmanship. What they should not have to do is defend their humanity afterwards.

Gauff also showed considerably more compassion toward Sun than some of her critics showed toward her. She said she apologised to the teenager after the match, that Sun understood, and described her as an “incredible” talent with an exciting career ahead.  

Boris Becker later publicly supported Gauff, telling her to keep her head held high and ignore the racist abuse.

That really should be where this ends. Debate the replay if you want. Debate the rule. But racial slurs are not tennis analysis, and Gauff should never have had to explain that distinction in the first place.