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Days after finding herself in the midst of an on-court controversy, followed by responding to a racial slur on social media, Coco Gauff was eliminated in the round of 16 of the China Open.
Gauff dropped her Wednesday match to No. 19 Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-3, and in the midst of the match, she admitted to not being in the right state.
"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," Gauff told her camp during the match, according to the New York Post. "I’m going to just try to finish the match."
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Coco Gauff of the United States walks off the court after losing to Elise Mertens of Belgium in the fourth round on Day 8 of the China Open at National Tennis Center on Oct. 7, 2026 in Beijing, China. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
After the match, Gauff said the aftermath of what had happened earlier in the week had "been kind of draining."
"I'm not going to lie," she said. "I just turn off my phone and move on. There's nothing you can do."
The defeat to a player Gauff had beaten in all five of their previous matchups came days after she had received what she described as an "insane" amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in the preceding round.
Gauff stopped a rally after electronic advertising boards lining the court flickered during a point late in the first set of her 7-5, 6-1 third-round victory over Xinran, a 16-year-old who recently won the U.S. Open junior title. Sun appeared about to win the point when Gauff stopped playing, but the chair umpire then ordered the point to be replayed.
Gauff explained what occurred in the moment, but not before replying to a post on X calling her a racial slur.
Coco Gauff of the United States celebrates after defeating Xinran Sun of China in a Women's Singles Round of 32 match on day six of the China Open at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China, on Oct. 5, 2026. (Fred Lee/Getty Images)
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"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," Gauff said, adding that she is "not a cheater or a thief."
"It was an unfortunate situation but it is out of my control, the think pieces and calling me an 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 said in a separate social media post. "Xinran is incredible talent and player, I apologized for the situation at the end of the match and she completely understood."
Coco Gauff of the United States reacts against Xinran Sun of China in the women's singles third round match at the China Open in Beijing on Oct. 5, 2026. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
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Against Mertens, Gauff committed 34 unforced errors to Mertens’ 11 and had eight double faults to her opponent’s two. Four of Gauff’s double faults came when she was broken in the final game of the first set.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
