Exit in the round of 16

Elise Mertens eliminated third seed Coco Gauff from the China Open on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the fourth round. The result secured the 30-year-old Belgian her first quarter-final appearance in Beijing across seven tournament visits. Mertens entered the contest having lost all five of their previous matches against Gauff, but capitalized on a sequence of mistakes to register her 10th career win against a top-five opponent and her second of 2026. The 78-minute defeat ended Gauff's title defence following her tournament championship in 2024.

Physical struggle and error count

Gauff's performance was hindered by 34 unforced errors and eight double faults over the two sets. Four of those double faults occurred in the final service game of the opening set, allowing Mertens to take the lead. After conceding six consecutive games, the 22-year-old American fell behind 4-1 in the second set and expressed severe physical distress to her support box during a changeover.

I have no energy. I'm trying, I have no energy. I can't see the ball, I feel like I'm going to pass out.

Gauff continued playing to complete the contest, which marked her first straight-set loss since February. In her post-match press conference, she noted that she lacked energy and fluidity in her movement throughout the day.

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 big points, made me play a big ball, yeah.

Disputed point and online abuse

The fourth-round loss followed a contentious third-round match on Monday against 16-year-old Chinese opponent Sun Xinran. Late in the first set of that 7-5, 6-1 victory, Sun believed she had hit an unreturned winner, but Gauff had raised her hand to halt play due to flickering lights on the side advertising boards. Following a video review requested under tournament rules, the umpire ordered the point to be replayed. Gauff won the replayed point amid boos from spectators in the stadium, after which she became the target of racial abuse across social media.

Gauff published a statement early Tuesday morning clarifying that she had stopped play before the return when noticing the lights flicker for a second time, writing that she was neither a cheater nor a thief. The Women's Tennis Association condemned the harassment, stating it was appalled by the racial abuse, in direct contact with Gauff to offer support, and seeking action against abusive accounts. When asked about the impact of the preceding 36 hours, Gauff explained her reaction to the hostility.

It has been kind of draining, I'm not going to lie. I just turn off my phone and move on. There's nothing you can do.

Quarter-final matchups and schedule

Mertens dedicated her victory to her coach and partner Christopher Heyman ahead of his birthday on Thursday. She advances to the quarter-finals to face eighth seed Iga Swiatek, who progressed with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over American teenager Iva Jovic. Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, previously won the China Open title in 2023. Gauff is scheduled to compete next at the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan, where she is the reigning champion.