Coco Gauff exits China Open in fourth round
Cori Dionne Gauff, known professionally as Coco, lost 6-3, 6-3 to Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the China Open fourth round on October 7, 2026, ending her Beijing run at the National Tennis Center.
The straight-sets defeat ended Gauff’s attempt to extend a Beijing record that included the 2024 title and semifinal appearances in 2023 and 2025. She entered the 2026 tournament as the No. 3 seed.
Coco Gauff stops play over flickering boards
Gauff stopped a first-set rally against 16-year-old Sun Xinran on October 5 after electronic advertising boards flickered beside the court. A video review followed, and the chair umpire ordered the point to be replayed.
Sun led 5-4 when the interruption occurred, but Gauff recovered to win 7-5, 6-1 in one hour, 29 minutes. The Chinese wildcard was playing her first WTA main draw before a home crowd.
Coco Gauff responds to racist messages
Gauff addressed racist messages on X after the Sun match, saying disagreement with the replay decision did not justify those comments. She also rejected claims that she acted dishonestly during the disputed first-set point.
She later said she apologized to Sun after the match and that the teenager understood what happened. Gauff praised the 16-year-old’s talent and expressed respect for competing against her before supporters in Beijing.
WTA data shows wider online abuse pattern
Professional tennis documented more than 12,000 abusive social media posts and comments during 2025 after reviewing over 1.2 million items. Of those, 3,726 met the program’s category for serious abuse across monitored platforms.
The annual monitoring report showed that online mistreatment extended far beyond one player or tournament. The system reviewed content across X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook using automated detection supported by trained human analysts.
Coco Gauff’s errors shaped Mertens result
Gauff committed 34 unforced errors against Mertens, compared with 11 from the Belgian. She also recorded eight double faults while her opponent made two, creating a clear statistical gap during the 78-minute fourth-round contest.
Mertens broke Gauff’s serve four times and faced only one break point on her own delivery. The Belgian completed the 6-3, 6-3 victory with her second ace, securing a place in the Beijing quarterfinals.
Coco Gauff’s serve faltered late
Four of Gauff’s eight double faults came in the final game of the opening set, when Mertens broke serve. Those miscues accounted for 50% of the Americans’ total during the entire fourth-round match.
Before Beijing, Gauff had landed 62.5% of first serves across 59 matches and won 68.4% of those points. She held serve in 468 of 663 service games, producing a 70.6% season rate.
Coco Gauff reported low energy
Trailing 4-1 in the second set, Gauff told her team she had no energy and felt close to passing out. Mertens said she noticed the decline and increased her own intensity during the match.
Gauff later described the previous few days as draining while discussing the online reaction to her match with Sun. Her comments connected the difficult period with the volume of racist messages she had received.
Elise Mertens reaches Beijing quarterfinal
Mertens entered the fourth round ranked 19th and left with her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal appearance in five years. She was seeded No. 13 in Beijing and advanced in straight sets.
Her quarterfinal opponent was Iga Swiatek, who advanced by beating 18-year-old American Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-3 on October 7. The Pole won four straight games after the teenager briefly led 3-2 in set two.
Elise Mertens improves top 10 record
Mertens improved to 3-3 against top-10 opponents in 2026 after beating Gauff. Her other victories in that category came over Jasmine Paolini at the Italian Open and Elena Rybakina in Wimbledon’s third round.
The Wimbledon win over Rybakina sent Mertens into the fourth round, and she later reached the quarterfinals. Her career-high singles ranking is No. 12, a position first achieved in November 2018.
Coco Gauff held world No. 4 ranking
Gauff was ranked No. 4 with 7,244 points during the China Open. Her 2026 season already included the Cincinnati title, along with runner-up finishes at the WTA 1000 events in Miami and Rome.
She captured Cincinnati in August by beating Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4 for her first tour title of 2026. The victory made Gauff a two-time champion there, matching Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka.
Fun fact: At about age 9 or 10, Coco Gauff earned her first paycheck as Serena Williams’ stunt double for a commercial.
Coco Gauff withdraws from Wuhan Open
Gauff withdrew from the Wuhan Open after her Beijing loss, saying her body needed time to rest and recover following a long year. The tournament was scheduled from October 12 through 18, 2026.
She entered as defending champion after winning Wuhan in 2025 without dropping a set. Gauff held an 8-1 career record there, and the 2026 singles winner was due to receive 1,000 ranking points.
Coco Gauff named to U.S. playoff team
The USTA named Gauff to represent the United States against Hungary in a Billie Jean King Cup playoff scheduled for November 21 and 22 in her hometown of Delray Beach, Florida.
The team contest at Delray Beach Tennis Center will determine which country returns to the 2027 qualifying pool. Each nation may name up to five players for the scheduled two-day competition.
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Threat Matrix reports removal results
Tennis authorities use the Threat Matrix system to monitor online abuse across five major social platforms. The program combines artificial intelligence with human review in 57 languages to identify concerning posts involving professional players.
The 2026 report found platforms removed 66% of serious abusive content identified during 2025. Authorities received referrals involving 35 accounts, while 89% of profiles from that category in 2024 did not reappear in 2025.
Venus Williams has joined other players in questioning the US Open’s late-night scheduling. Explore what she said and why match times remain a concern for players.
Should tennis authorities and social platforms do more to protect players from racist abuse during tournaments, and how should they respond when it happens? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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