Coco Gauff sparks health fears as she is dumped out of China Open in the wake of ‘cheating’ storm and racist abuse: ‘I feel like I’m going to pass out’
Coco Gauff was knocked out of China Open amid concerns over her health one day after the American star highlighted the vile racism she had encountered after being mixed up in a ‘cheating’ storm against 16-year-old Sun Xinran.
The two-time Grand Slam champion had been 5-4 down in her third-round tie in Beijing when she patted a straightforward volley over the net, which Sun charged up the court to send back for a winner.
But Gauff had thrown up her arms in complaint as the forehand sailed over her head, telling the chair umpire that she had been distracted by a sponsor change on the electronic advertising boards on both sides of the court.
With the point replayed, Gauff wrenched momentum from her opponent and booked her spot in the fourth round – only to struggle from the early stages against world No19 Elise Mertens.
Level on serve at 4-3, Gauff’s game unravelled to lose the next six games, with the US star telling her camp with some concern at 4-1 in the second set that she didn’t know why she was so low on fighting spirit.
‘I have no energy. I’m trying, I have no energy. I can’t see the ball, I feel like I’m going to pass out,’ she told the team in her player’s box. ‘I’m going to just try to finish the match.’
Coco Gauff sparked health concerns after revealing she was going to ‘pass out’ during her defeat by Elise Mertens in China
In the build-up to the match the US star had to contend with vile racism on social media after she requested a replayed point in her third-round match against Sun Xinran
Gauff eventually lost 6-3, 6-3, downed in straight sets for the first time since February.
The 22-year-old’s preparations will have been marred somewhat in the build-up as she struggled in the face of racist abuse on social media in the wake of her controversial point against Sun.
Sharing a statement to clarify when she had stopped the match as she had done, Gauff sought to set the record straight after being accused that she had only protested due to her low-quality volley.
Gauff cited a flicker at the beginning of the point which she admitted she wasn’t sure ‘if that is what I actually saw’.
Continuing, the former US Open champion wrote: ‘We are told before the matches we are allowed to continue to finish play so KEEP IT [in] MIND I am thinking about all this while I’m playing the point.
‘Anything can be challenged after the point is over (as in most sports you can review a call after the play is over, I personally think this is the correct rule). If I would’ve lost the point my opponent is also free to do the same thing and ask for a replay and she would’ve been completely in her right to do so.
‘When it flickered again I raised my hands before she hit her shot because this is when I was sure I saw the light flicker and it wasn’t my mind doing tricks lol (which again doesn’t matter because anything can be challenged after the point).
‘It was an unfortunate situation but it is out of my control, the 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.
Gauff told reporters of the toll the cheating storm had taken on her after her defeat
‘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.’
She also highlighted the level of racism she is subject to on social media, with her reply coming to a commenter who had written ‘f*** you’ to her and called her the n-word.
‘Hey everyone,’ Gauff replied, amplifying the comment. ‘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.’
Gauff received an outpouring of support from fans in the wake of the racist abuse on social media, which was later limited after violating X’s rules against hateful conduct.
