Coco Gauff defeated Sun Xinran in the third round of the 2026 China Open.
During the first set, Gauff called for a video review after Xinran hit a winner, arguing that the flashing LED screens at the side of the court had distracted her. The umpire told Gauff and Xinran to replay the point. Gauff won the replayed point and won the match 7-5, 6-1.
16-year-old Xinran was visibly upset after the incident and never recovered, and lost her first WTA Tour main-draw match (now 2-1). Gauff was heavily criticised and received unacceptable social media abuse.
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka has now come to Gauff’s defence, delivering her verdict on the video replay drama at the China Open.
Victoria Azarenka doesn’t think it’s fair to ‘assign bad intentions’ to anyone after Coco Gauff incident
Belarusian tennis legend Azarenka has spent time away from the public eye, but stepped back into the limelight to share her thoughts on the controversy in Beijing.
The two-time Grand Slam champion described video replays as a ‘very new addition to tennis’ and explained that confusion will remain until the rules and procedures are more clearly defined.
She also commented on the timing of Gauff’s call for a review, doing so just before Xinran put away the forehand winner. Azarenka argued that it was the ‘umpire’s responsibility’ and that players, like Gauff, deserve more grace.
Finally, Azarenka said it would be unfair to ‘assign bad intentions’ to anyone after the incident, having seen Gauff receive a wave of online abuse.
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Azarenka clearly doesn’t believe that Gauff deserved the criticism she received, and she’s probably right. The American fairly requested a video review and was granted one. If you have a problem with the rules, call for a rule change. As the saying goes, don’t hate the player, hate the game…
Who will Coco Gauff play next at the China Open?
After her controversial third-round win, Gauff will return to action on Wednesday, October 7, to play Belgium’s Elise Mertens. The 13th seed defeated Katie Volynets and Jelena Ostapenko in three sets to reach the last 16.
Coco Gauff’s route to the China Open title
| Round | Highest-ranked potential opponent | Potential seeded opponents |
| First round (Bye) | – | – |
| Second round | Camila Osorio (66) | – |
| Third round | Sun Xinran (582) | – |
| Fourth round | Elise Mertens (19) | [13] Elise Mertens |
| Quarter-final | Iga Swiatek (9) | [8] Iga Swiatek, [10] Iva Jovic |
| Semi-final | Elina Svitolina (7) | [6] Elina Svitolina, [21] Ann Li |
| Final | Mirra Andreeva (5) | [4] Mirra Andreeva, [5] Linda Noskova, [7] Karolina Muchova, [12] Naomi Osaka, [19] Ekaterina Alexandrova, [26] Nikola Bartunkova |
Gauff and Mertens have met five times, and the American leads their head-to-head 5-0. She will surely fancy her chances of reaching the quarter-finals, where she could play Iga Swiatek or Iva Jovic.
She is 5-11 against Swiatek, but won their previous four meetings and has never lost to Jovic, defeating her countrywoman in Rome and New York this year.
Then, in the semi-finals and final, Gauff will avoid the top seeds, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka, after both players suffered early exits at the 2026 China Open.
Top seeds remaining in Beijing
- [3] Coco Gauff
- [4] Mirra Andreeva
- [6] Elina Svitolina
- [7] Karolina Muchova
- [8] Iga Swiatek
- [10] Iva Jovic
- [13] Elise Mertens
- [19] Ekaterina Alexandrova
- [21] Ann Li
- [26] Nikola Bartunkova
Instead, she is most likely to meet Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the semis and Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the final. Gauff is 2-4 against Svitolina, but leads Andreeva 6-0 in their head-to-head.
Only time will tell if Gauff can go all the way and claim the China Open title, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action…
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