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'Draining' few days for Gauff after online racist abuse

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Cite

Lofthouse, A. (2026, October 7). 'Draining' few days for Gauff after online racist abuse. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/articles/c6pqgdr4z08xo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

BBC News · collected 2026-10-07 · by Amy Lofthouse

Quick Summary

Coco Gauff expressed feeling drained after facing racist abuse online following an incident during her China Open match against Sun Xinran. The abuse escalated after Gauff requested a video review due to lighting issues, which led to Sun losing the point and eventually the match. Despite this, Gauff lost her subsequent match to Elise Mertens in straight sets, citing that she was "a bit flat." The Women's Tennis Association condemned the racist comments and is taking action against the abusive content.
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 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Coco Gauff Racist Abuse
Sports · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Coco Gauff says online racist abuse during China Open was ‘draining’ after loss to Mertens Same event
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
Gauff says an 'insane' wave of racist abuse followed a disputed point at China Open Same event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 64/100
Gauff condemns racist abuse after China Open win Same event
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 68/100
Coco Gauff calls out 'insane' racist comments after 16-year-old opponent gets emotional following controversy Same event
Fox News
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100
Coco Gauff claps back at racial abuse after replay controversy at the China Open turns nasty Same event
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100
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
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

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Who wrote this

Amy Lofthouse
5 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Belgium's Mertens will play former world number one Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals after the six-time major champion Swiatek beat American teenager Iva Jovic 6-1 6-3.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · 'Draining' few days for Gauff after online racist abuse
🔮 - Published World number one Jannik Sinner will not play again in 2026 because of an ongoing right knee injury.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Sinner out for rest of season with knee injury
🔮 Medvedev will now lose the points and prize money he had earned during his run to the last four in Beijing.
2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Medvedev defaulted for hitting spectator with ball
🔮 - Published Most players, after seeing their US Open title defence end at 3.34am after five intense sets, would not walk away smiling. Carlos Alcaraz is not most players.
2026-09-24 · assertive framing · Alcaraz on late finishes, missing Sinner and Laver Cup return
🔮 The International Tennis Integrity Agency said Kyrgios could appeal against the provisional suspension "but has not done so to date".
2026-08-19 · assertive framing · Tennis player Nick Kyrgios suspended after testing positive for cocaine
Also by Amy Lofthouse
Sinner out for rest of season with knee injury
2026-10-06 · BBC News
Medvedev defaulted for hitting spectator with ball
2026-10-05 · BBC News
Alcaraz on late finishes, missing Sinner and Laver Cup return
2026-09-24 · BBC News
Tennis player Nick Kyrgios suspended after testing positive for cocaine
2026-08-19 · BBC News
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

AFP American China China Open the Women's Tennis Association

Subjects

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

Narrative

China's Sun thought she had hit a winner late in the first set, but Gauff raised her hand to halt play because of a flickering light in the side panels surrounding the court.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-07
🔮 Belgium's Mertens will play former world number one Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals after the six-time major champion Swiatek beat American teenager Iva Jovic 6-1 6-3.
2026-10-07 · BBC News
'Draining' few days for Gauff after online racist abuse · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 0 hedged)

- Published Coco Gauff said she had a "draining" few days after receiving racist abuse online before her fourth-round China Open exit. asserted
she → publish → exit
The American received an "insane" amount of racist comments and direct messages following an incident in her third-round win over 16-year-old Sun Xinran on Monday. asserted
American → receive → Monday
China's Sun thought she had hit a winner late in the first set, but Gauff raised her hand to halt play because of a flickering light in the side panels surrounding the court. asserted
Gauff → think → court
After a video review - which players are allowed to request - the point was replayed, with Gauff winning it and subsequently going on to clinch the match. asserted
Gauff → allow → match
The 22-year-old posted a lengthy statement explaining what had happened and later condemned the racist abuse she received in response. asserted
she → post → response
Gauff was beaten 6-3 6-3 in her next match against Elise Mertens on Wednesday. asserted
Gauff → beat → Wednesday
Asked how she had felt over the past 36 hours, Gauff said: "It has been kind of draining, I'm not going to lie. asserted
I → ask → hours
"I just turn off my phone and move on. asserted
I → turn → phone
I mean, there's nothing you can do." asserted
you → mean → ?
A spokesperson for the Women's Tennis Association said it was appalled by the abuse. asserted
it → say → abuse
It said it was in contact with Gauff "to offer our full support". asserted
it → say → support
A statement given to the news agency AFP said the governing body was "seeking action" against the abusive content. asserted
body → give → content
Gauff, who won the title in Beijing in 2024, committed 34 unforced errors and eight double faults against Mertens. asserted
who → win → Mertens
That's the main thing," Gauff said. asserted
Gauff → say → ?
"The level was there at some points, I just didn't sustain it the whole match." asserted
I → sustain → it
Belgium's Mertens will play former world number one Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals after the six-time major champion Swiatek beat American teenager Iva Jovic 6-1 6-3. asserted
Swiatek → play → Jovic
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