BEIJING — Coco Gauff said she had “no energy” during her loss to Elise Mertens at the China Open on Wednesday.
The 6-3, 6-3 loss to a player Gauff had beaten in her previous five matches came days after she received what she described as an “insane” amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in the previous round.
Later on Wednesday, the Wuhan Open announced that Gauff was withdrawing from the upcoming tournament. He quotes Gauff, the reigning champion, as saying: “After a long year, my body needs time to rest and recover. »
In Monday’s match against local player Sun
Sun looked set to win the point when Gauff stopped playing. The chair umpire then ordered the point to be replayed.
“Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree with what happened without being racist,” Gauff, who is Black, said in a response on
Against Mertens, 19th, Gauff lost his serve four times.
Gauff committed 34 unforced errors compared to 11 for Mertens and eight double faults compared to two for his opponent. Four of Gauff’s double faults came when she was broken in the final game of the first set.
Trailing 4-1 in the second set, Gauff told her team she had “no energy” and felt like she was going to pass out.
“I kind of felt like she was losing a little bit of energy,” Mertens said. “I tried to push myself. But I know she’s a great competitor. It’s never been done against her.”
Mertens reached her first quarter-final at a WTA 1000 event – the level just below the Grand Slam – in five years.
“She’s an incredible player, of course. I knew it was going to be a very difficult match,” Mertens said. “But I had motivation. My coach/boyfriend, it’s his birthday tomorrow. So this win is dedicated to him and all the work we do.”
Mertens improved to 3-3 against top 10 opponents this year. She also beat defending champion Jasmine Paolini at the Italian Open and current No. 1 Elena Rybakina in the third round at Wimbledon, where she reached the quarterfinals.
Also Wednesday, the USTA announced that Gauff will compete when the United States hosts Hungary in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers in her hometown of Delray Beach, Fla., Nov. 21-22.
Earlier, Iga Swiatek broke Iva Jovic’s serve twice in the last four games to beat the 18-year-old American 6-1, 6-3.
Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion who has struggled at times this year, will next face Mertens.
Gn sports
