For the last few years, Beijing has been a celebrity getaway for Coco Gauff. In 2025, she even confessed to packing light just so she could take away all the plushies and personalized welcome gifts her fans gave her there. Things couldn’t be more different in 2026.
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As she continued her campaign to clinch another China Open title, her Round-of-32 7-5, 6-1 win over Sun Xinran crushed her image because she chose to go for a rule and earn her point fair and square. But supporters of Sun, a local favorite, were not thrilled, as she lost a winning point to Gauff and then dropped out of the tournament. Chris Evert, however, agrees with the American star’s choice and not the fans.
“Why are the ‘ haters’ attacking @CocoGauff ?”, said Evert on X. “She did everything within the rules. Honestly, Coco is the most genuine, thoughtful, humble human being you’ll ever find. She is loved by everyone in the Tennis world. It’s really disturbing to see her going through this turmoil.#kindness”
According to the WTA rulebook: “A let should be called if a player is hindered by an event outside of her control (e.g., ball rolling onto the court, paper blowing onto the court, etc.) during play or her service motion.”
Gauff, in her opinion, did just that.
While serving at 4-5 in the first set against Xinran Sun, the advertising boards on the sidelines kept flickering. Gauff and Sun, however, also kept playing. At one point, though, the American stopped the play and seeing that she was standing at the front midcourt, Sun sent her next shot towards Gauff’s right backcourt, a clear winner. But with the play stopped, things took a quick turn.
Not only did Sun not get that point that could’ve won her the set, the umpire ordered the point be played again. Gauff won that point to sweep the set. Sun ultimately lost the round in her debut in a WTA event, but was dejected at how things played out. Things with Gauff got worse, however.
Coco Gauff responds to the hate comments as others support her
Right after Gauff left the Capital Group Diamond, she received a “wave” of hate messages that also had some racial undertones. Understandably, it took a toll on her, and she had to explain her decision.
“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),” wrote Gauff on her Instagram story after the match.
The complaints of gamesmanship came from the fans as the lights came into play after Gauff had played her shot, and Sun had played a potential winner in the next shot. Once Gauff won the replayed point, and she held at 5-5, the trajectory of the match changed as the World No. 4 went through the gears to win the match 7-5, 6-1.
Others also stood strong with Gauff and some fans who believed she did not need to explain herself since she followed a rule.
“If any player has carried herself with class and sportsmanship in this game, it’s Coco Gauff,” Serena Williams’ coach, Rennae Stubbs, wrote.
The debate about gamesmanship rages on in tennis, and it is not limited only to video challenges. Fans have called out players for taking elongated bathroom breaks or called for a medical timeout when one is behind on the scoreboard. Back at the 2021 Australian Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas came under a lot of backlash, even from his opponent, Andy Murray, for taking an eight-minute bathroom break. Even the likes of Novak Djokovic have not been criticized for using medical timeouts to gain tactical advantages in the matches.
Coco Gauff Withdrew From the Next Event After Loss
Things did not take long to get rougher for Gauff after the match against Sun. In her next round against Elise Mertens, Gauff struggled physically on the court and had a rare straight-set loss against the Belgian. Even though her body was causing her problems on the court, the American did not shy away from admitting that the noise off the court had also been hard to manage.
The loss was followed by Gauff’s decision to skip the final WTA 1000 event at Wuhan, where she was the defending champion. While she cited physical fatigue for the withdrawal, it is not a giant leap to feel that the off-court abuse also had its part to play.
Gauff’s next potential appearance would be at the WTA Finals, where her fans would hope she is back to her best on the court as she takes on the seven other best players of the season.