UN human rights office condemns racist abuse aimed at Coco Gauff
Volker Türk’s office says the online messages show Black female athletes are singled out, and it wants players, coaches, sports bodies and fans to respond.
By
Naomi Fletcher
The United Nations’ human rights office on Saturday publicly condemned the racist messages sent online to Coco Gauff, the American tennis player, and called for solidarity to push back against racism and sexism in sport.
In brief
- The UN human rights office led by Volker Türk condemned the racist messages sent online to Coco Gauff.
- The abuse followed a replayed point in her China Open win over 16-year-old Sun Xinran.
- Gauff later lost to Elise Mertens and said the abuse had been draining.
- The WTA said it was appalled and is pursuing action; it counted more than 12,000 abusive posts in 2025.
What the UN human rights office said
The statement came from the office led by high commissioner Volker Türk, and it was issued as a social media post. Its language was blunt. The office described the racist messages aimed at Gauff as “appalling”, and said the episode shows how Black women in sport are singled out for an especially hostile, racist kind of online abuse. The episode was reported by The Guardian, which carried the office’s message.
“There is no place in sport for racial or sexist slurs and abuse.”
United Nations’ human rights office
What happened at the China Open
Gauff, 22, is a two-time grand slam champion and is ranked No 4 in the world. The abuse followed her third-round match at the China Open on Monday against Sun Xinran, a 16-year-old Chinese player. In the first set, as Sun was about to finish a crucial point with a winner, Gauff raised her hand to complain about a flickering advertising board. After a video review, the umpire ordered the point to be replayed, a decision that drew boos from the crowd. Gauff won the replayed point, held serve for 5-5 and went on to win 7-5, 6-1, according to Al Jazeera.
Afterwards, Gauff said the amount of racist comments and direct messages she had received in a few hours was “insane”. Replying on X to a post that contained a racial slur, she wrote that people could dislike her or disagree about what happened without being racist. She added that she was not a cheater or a thief, and said she had apologised to Sun for the situation at the end of the match. She also said she had followed the rules: players may request video reviews of some judgement calls, including claims that a distraction interfered with play.
Two days later, on Wednesday, Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Elise Mertens in Beijing, Al Jazeera reported. She said she had “no energy” and felt as though she would pass out. Asked about the abuse, she said it had been “kind of draining”, adding that she turns off her phone and moves on.
The response of the WTA
The WTA said it was “appalled”, confirmed it had been in touch with Gauff and said it was pursuing action over the abusive messages. The tour has introduced a system that monitors posts aimed at players and officials on social media. A study by the WTA and World Tennis counted more than 12,000 abusive posts and messages aimed at players in 2025, up from 8,000 a year earlier.
Who the UN expects to act
Beyond the condemnation, the office spelled out who should respond. According to its statement:
- Players are asked to back colleagues who face such attacks.
- Coaches are asked to do the same.
- Sports bodies are called on to support the athletes who are targeted.
- Fans are urged to confront people who use racism and sexism to tarnish the game.
Featured image. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Credit: Carine06 from UK. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
