BEIJING — Coco Gauff said she had “no energy” in her loss to Elise Mertens at the China Open on Wednesday.
The 6-3, 6-3 defeat to a player Gauff had beaten in all five of their previous matchups came days after she had received what she described as an “insane” amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in the preceding round.
Later Wednesday, the Wuhan Open announced that Gauff withdrew from the upcoming tournament. It quoted Gauff, the defending champion, as saying “After a long year, my body needs some time to rest and recover.”
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In Monday’s match against home player Sun Xinran, the fourth-ranked Gauff stopped a rally after electronic advertising boards lining the court flickered during a point late in the first set.
Sun appeared about 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 about what happened without being racist,” Gauff, who is Black, said in a reply on X. “The amount of racist comments/dms I’ve received in the last few hours is insane. Lastly, I‘m not a cheater or a thief.”
Against the 19th-ranked Mertens, Gauff dropped her serve four times.
Gauff committed 34 unforced errors to Mertens’ 11 and had eight double faults to her opponent’s two. 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 that she had “no energy” and felt as though she would pass out.
“I kind of felt like she was dropping a bit in energy,” Mertens said. “I tried to push myself. But I know she’s a great competitor. It’s never done against her.”
Mertens reached her first quarterfinal at a WTA 1000 event - the level just below the Grand Slams - in five years.
“She’s an incredible player, of course. I knew it was going to be a very tough 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 of Wimbledon, where she reached the quarterfinal.
Also Wednesday, the USTA announced that Gauff will compete when the U.S. hosts Hungary in a Billie Jean King Cup playoff in her hometown of Delray Beach, Florida, 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 play Mertens.
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