Coco Gauff says online racist abuse was ‘draining’ after China Open exit

Coco Gauff admits the racism she suffered during the China-open" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="205211" data-entity-type="event">China Open exhausted her after the US tennis star missed out on the quarterfinals.Coco Gauff says online racist abuse has left her feeling exhausted as she lost to Elise Mertens in the China-open" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="205211" data-entity-type="event">China Open.The world number four, a Black American, turned in an uncharacteristically listless performance in Beijing on Wednesday, double-faulting eight times as she went down 6-3, 6-3 to her Belgian opponent.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4CAS to hear Senegal appeal over AFCON title awarded to Moroccolist 2 of 4‘He is our idol:’ Why Lionel Messi means so much to fans in Indialist 3 of 4Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta signs new contract with Premier League championslist 4 of 4‘My actions must be punished’: Ronaldo confirms Portugal availabilityend of listGauff, 22, was playing a day after she called out the “insane” amount of abuse she had received on the internet following her win over Chinese teenager Sun Xinran in the previous round.“It has been kind of draining. I’m not going to lie,” Gauff said of the impact of the online comments.“But I just turn off my phone and move on. There’s nothing you can do.”Asked about the match, she said: “I think I just didn’t play well. I think I wasn’t moving well.“There were a lot of things I didn’t do well. I thought Elise played well on the bigger points.”During her previous match in Beijing, against Sun, Gauff requested a video review over flickering LED lights on the stadium’s advertising hoardings.The move prompted some boos from the crowd. The umpire agreed to have the point replayed, and Gauff went on to win 7-5, 6-1.Early on Tuesday, Gauff wrote on X: “Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist.”She was responding to a post that contained a racial slur.“The amount of racist comments and messages I’ve received in the last few hours is insane,” she wrote.Belgian Elise Mertens, right, shakes hands with American Coco Gauff after their singles match [Pedro Pardo/AFP]Gauff also clarified that she challenged the point before Sun had returned the ball, when she noticed the lights flicker for a second time.