The American is speaking out against racist hostility. However, she does not want to attribute her defeat in the round of 16 to it.
Two-time Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff (USA) has spoken out about the distressing impact of racist comments online following her exit from the WTA tournament in Beijing. “It was kind of demoralising. I’m not going to lie,” said Gauff after her 3–6, 3–6 defeat in the round of 16 against Belgium’s Elise Mertens, referring to the hostility she had faced following her third-round victory on Tuesday.
However, Gauff did not want to attribute the defeat to the hostility and emphasised that she had “simply not played well.” She explained how she deals with such situations: “I just switch my mobile off and carry on. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Becker offers Gauff words of encouragement
The attacks were apparently triggered on Tuesday by a controversial incident in the first set of her match against China’s Sun Xinran (16). After losing a point, Gauff had raised her hand to request a replay because the LED screens had dazzled her. A review of the situation confirmed Gauff’s position; she went on to win the set shortly afterwards against her visibly shaken opponent, and later the match as well.
You can dislike her and disagree with her regarding the controversial point without being racist, Gauff wrote on her X channel: “It’s mad how many racist comments and direct messages I’ve received because of this. But I’m neither a cheater nor a thief.” She received strong backing from Germany’s tennis icon Boris Becker for her response to the racist attacks: “Keep going with your head held high,” Becker wrote on X.
The WTA also rallied behind Gauff. When asked about the incident, a spokeswoman said the governing body for professional female players was “appalled by the racist abuse directed at Coco Gauff and is in contact with her to offer her our full support.” In a statement to the AFP news agency, the WTA added that there was “no place for racism, discrimination or abuse” in tennis and that it would take “action” against the offensive content.