India, Oct. 6 -- Coco Gauff said she received an "insane" amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in her China Open match against home player Sun Xinran.

Gauff stopped a rally after electronic advertising boards lining the court flickered during a point late in the first set of her 7-5, 6-1 third-round victory over Sun, a 16-year-old who recently won the U.S. Open junior title.

"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, Im not a cheater or a thief."

Sun appeared about to win the point when Gauff stopped playing. The chair umpi...