“Dislike me without being racist” – Coco Gauff speaks out amid ‘cheating’ allegations in China Open controversy
Coco Gauff recently spoke out about the racist abuse she has received amidst the ‘cheating’ allegations she suffered after her China Open controversy. The American explained her side of the story and urged fans to be civil in their comments.
On Monday, October 5, Gauff was in action against 16-year-old Sun Xinran at the China Open. The duo kicked off their match with a closely fought tussle in the first set. In the latter half of the set, the third seed interrupted a rally as she raised a hand to stop play because of a flickering light in the side panels around the court. However, the move generated quite some controversy, with many fans accusing the 22-year-old of cheating.
In light of this incident, Coco Gauff recently replied to a racist comment on X and asked fans to be civil, writing,
“Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist. The amount of racist comments/dms I’ve received in the last few hours is insane. Lastly, I’m not a cheater or a thief.”
In a separate comment, Gauff went on to explain her side of the story, revealing that she saw the light flickering twice before she raised her hand. She called the entire situation ‘unfortunate’, writing,
“It was an unfortunate situation but it is out of my control, [these] think pieces and calling me unfair is ridiculous when those are the rules. I did not make them, I think it’s weird I’m getting hate for following the rules. Xinran is an incredible talent and player, I apologized for the situation at the end of the match and she completely understood. I did not like to see her so emotional as I’ve been there and I really understand what it is like but this is just the beginning of an incredible career. It was an honor to share the court in front of her home crowd.”
After the controversial point, Gauff went on to win the match 7-5, 6-1 to move forward into the fourth round.
