Gauff slams 'insane' amount of racist abuse after replayed-point drama in Beijing

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/gauff-c-f5BXmEH6/sun-x-Wbk4jvv8/?mid=6NkAPBxI"]The American won 7-5, 6-1[/a] to reach the ‌fourth round, but was targeted after stopping play during a ‌crucial point in the first set, raising her hand to complain about ‌a flickering advertising board just as Sun was about to ‌put away a winner.[/p][p]After a video review, the umpire ordered the point to be replayed. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Gauff[/a] won the replayed point and held serve for 5-5 before ‌cruising to victory against the Chinese 16-year-old.[/p][p]Gauff, ⁠22, said she had received a ‌barrage of abusive messages on social media after the match.[/p][p][b]"You can dislike ​me or disagree about what happened without being racist,"[/b] Gauff, who is Black, said on X early on Tuesday ​in reply to a post containing a racial slur.[/p][p][b]"The amount of racist comments/direct messages I've received in the last few hours is ⁠insane.[/b][/p][p][b]"Lastly, I'm not a ​cheater or a thief."[/b][/p][embed guid="d6c62d27-ef2f-44e5-ade9-14d90de20743" url="https://x.com/CocoGauff/status/2107182293618151886" social-type="twitter" /][p]Reuters has contacted the WTA, the governing body of women's tennis, and tournament organisers in Beijing for comment.[/p][p]The WTA has made efforts to tackle the issue of online abuse by introducing an ‌AI-powered system which monitors thousands of players and officials on social media.[/p][p]A study by the WTA and World Tennis showed players were subjected to over 12,000 abusive posts and messages on social media in 2025, up from 8,000 posts a year earlier.[/p][p]Gauff also explained that she was following the rules when she challenged the point. Players are allowed to request video reviews of select judgment calls, including claims a distraction may have interfered with play.[/p][embed guid="fd753aae-a640-4c9f-ade3-91c5554fb567" url="https://x.com/pavyg/status/2107240353937936731" social-type="twitter" /][p]The American said ‌she had spoken to Sun about the point at the end ​of the match.[/p][p][b]"[a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sun-xinran/Wbk4jvv8/"]Xinran[/a]'s an incredible talent and player. I apologised ‌for the situation at the end of the match, and she completely understood,"[/b] she wrote.[/p][p]"I didn't like to see her so emotional, as I've been there and I really understand what it's like, but this is the beginning of an incredible ⁠career. It was an honour ⁠to share the court in ‌front of her home crowd."[/p]