Gauff loses after reporting racist abuse online

Coco Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Elise Mertens in the China Open fourth round on Wednesday, two days after a disputed point in her previous match prompted racist abuse online that Gauff described as extensive and emotionally draining. Gauff said she had received an “insane” amount of racist comments and direct messages after her third-round match against Sun Xinran, a 16-year-old Chinese player. The reported volume of messages has not been independently quantified. Gauff said the experience had made the past few days draining and that she turned off her phone and tried to move on. The incident occurred late in the first set on Monday. As Sun appeared to be winning a point, Gauff stopped play, saying a flicker in the electronic boards beside the court had distracted her. The chair umpire ordered the point replayed after a review. Gauff won the replayed point and went on to win the match. Gauff later explained that she believed the rules allowed a player to challenge the point after it ended. She said Sun was entitled to request a replay as well and that she had apologized to her opponent after the match.