The Aporia · Coco Gauff says online racist abuse during China Open was ‘draining’ after loss to Mertens

Coco Gauff says online racist abuse during China Open was ‘draining’ after loss to Mertens

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Coco Gauff says online racist abuse during China Open was ‘draining’ after loss to Mertens. (2026, October 7). The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/oct/07/coco-gauff-racist-abuse-online-china-open-disputed-point

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Quick Summary

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 by AI on 2026-10-07, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

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 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

'Draining' few days for Gauff after online racist abuse Same event

BBC News

Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 68/100

Gauff condemns racist abuse after China Open win Same event

BBC News

Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 68/100

Coco Gauff decries "insane" amount of online racism after China match dispute Same event

CBS News

Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100

Coco Gauff advances to the third round at the WTA's China Open Different event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 64/100

“The articles describe different matches: one is Gauff's second-round match against Camila Osorio, while the other involves her loss to Elise Mertens in the last 16.”

Coco Gauff calls out 'insane' racist comments after 16-year-old opponent gets emotional following controversy Different event

Fox News

Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100

“While both articles discuss controversial incidents involving Coco Gauff during the China Open and racist abuse, they describe different occurrences: Article A focuses on the match against Sun Xinran and her response to racist comments after the match, while Article B discusses Gauff's reaction to online abuse in general following the tournament.”

Gauff says an 'insane' wave of racist abuse followed a disputed point at China Open Different event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 64/100

“The articles describe different times in the sequence of events: Article A refers to racist abuse following a disputed point during Gauff's match against Sun Xinran, while Article B discusses Gauff's reaction after losing to Elise Mertens later in the tournament.”

Coco Gauff claps back at racial abuse after replay controversy at the China Open turns nasty Different event

New York Post

Hedges 0 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100

“While both articles discuss racial abuse towards Coco Gauff at the China Open, they refer to different matches: Article A is about her Round of 32 victory over Sun Xinran, while Article B mentions a later loss to Elise Mertens.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans left

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

66/100

The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

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Publisher

The Guardian · 1891 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

No reporter is named on this article, beyond the feed's “Agencies”.

Topics

American China Chinese the China Open the Women’s Tennis Association

Subjects

Gauff PERSON · 7× American NORP · 2× Coco Gauff PERSON · 2× Mertens PERSON · 2× China GPE · 1× Chinese NORP · 1× Elise Mertens PERSON · 1× Sun ORG · 1× Sun Xinran PERSON · 1× the Women’s Tennis Association ORG · 1×

Narrative

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.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-07

🔮 The American was dismayed earlier this week after an incident during her match against Chinese teenager Sun Xinran.

2026-10-07 · The Guardian

Coco Gauff says online racist abuse during China Open was ‘draining’ after loss to Mertens · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 1 hedged)

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

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