In tennis, nothing should deter your concentration. At the 2026 China Open, Coco Gauff found herself at the center of a controversy for doing what athletes are supposed to do: advocate for themselves. Trailing 4-5 in the opening set against 16-year-old Sun Xinran, Gauff noticed the electronic advertising boards surrounding the court flickering during a rally. She raised her hand, requested a review and, after officials confirmed the visual distraction, the umpire ordered the point replayed. Gauff won the replayed point, held serve and eventually won the match 7-5, 6-1.
We feel for Xinran. The teenage phenom appeared close to winning the original point, and she was playing in front of her home crowd in China. She became visibly emotional as the match slipped between her racket. But the reaction to Gauff, who won the match, was unfair and unnecessary, ultimately showcasing how, when Black women stand up for themselves, others take it as an offense.
Let’s break this down: Gauff did not reward herself a point. She asked an official to review what happened, and the official ruled in her favor under the tournament’s rules. That’s how the game is played. In fact, another player at the same tournament, Alexander Zverev, also received a replay after complaining about the same flickering panels.
But Gauff’s self-advocacy wasn’t recognized in the same manner. Critics called her a cheater and a thief, and at least one social media user, stooping to the lowest of low, hurled the N-word at her.
After losing to Elise Mertens on Wednesday at the China Open, Gauff directly addressed the derogatory comments that plagued her earlier in the week. “It has been kind of draining; I’m not going to lie,” she told reporters. “I just turn off my phone and move on. There’s nothing you can do.”
Gauff had also shared that she received an insane amount of racist DMs, directly responding to an X user who called her the N-word. She noted people could disagree with her without being racist. Dealing with this type of racial abuse could get into anyone’s head.
We’ve seen this happen too many times in tennis, when Black players, especially female, stand up for their rights. After Serena Williams defended herself after receiving multiple code violations during the 2018 U.S. Open, she argued that a double standard exists where male tennis players are permitted to express anger without being penalized.
At the 2025 U.S. Open, Taylor Townsend defended herself in a courtside verbal confrontation with Latvian player Jelena Ostapenko, who used insulting language attacking Townsend’s intellect and education.
Tennis is an exhaustive sport. It takes your all: physically, mentally and spiritually. Players legally can—and will—call out distractions. They should be able to show emotion in the intensity of the game.
Black female tennis champs shouldn’t be subjected to accusations or being called names while doing their job on the court. They deserve the freedom to play their best and achieve the ultimate goal on the court: to win.