Coco Gauff’s French Open celebrations were short-lived. Shortly after winning her maiden Grand Slam title in Paris by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the summit clash, Gauff lost the very next match in a shocking display at the Berlin Open. The American sensation lost tamely against Wang Xinyu, a player ranked 49th on the WTA rankings chart. But surprisingly enough, Gauff was just one twist of fate away from making it into the quarterfinals.
The Chinese star is now in the final in Berlin after defeating Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals and Liudmila Samsonova in the last four. Continuing her impressive run, Wang took no time in overcoming the challenge of Samsonova in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. She entered the tournament as a qualifier after some impressive wins over the likes of Ons Jabeur and has made it to the summit clash. Shortly after reaching the final, Wang made a shocking admission which could prevent her shock upset victory over Coco Gauff.
In her first qualifying round against Talia Gibson, Wang looked down and out after losing the first set. Subsequently, she even contemplated pulling out of the match as things didn’t go her way. However, her team motivated her to come back stronger, which eventually worked in her favor. Wang made a thrilling comeback to win the next two sets and keep her hopes alive in the tournament. After defeating Samsonova earlier today, Wang said, “They [her team] kind of pushed me back to the court, like, literally pushed me back to the court.”
Xinyu Wang on almost retiring during her first round of qualifying in Berlin:
“They [her team] kind of pushed me back to the court, like, literally pushed me back to the court.” pic.twitter.com/2RuiGgcD9a
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 21, 2025
Apart from defeating Gauff in straight sets, Wang has also notched up wins over the likes of Paula Badosa and Daria Kasatkina. Reflecting on her sensational week, the Chinese star mentioned, “This week has been a dream for me. I’ve been playing unbelievable tennis here. I don’t know, it’s something with Berlin I guess. Coming to every match here, I wasn’t expecting anything, you know. For me, it was really just to enjoy the stage … We’re always saying that [you should] celebrate before the final because if you lose that, you don’t celebrate anything for this incredible week.”
On the other hand, it has been a difficult week for Coco Gauff after a dream run at the French Open. The American sensation even made a concerning admission, which highlights the dark side of achieving fame in the social media landscape of today.
Coco Gauff unearths abuse on social media
Over the past few years, there has been a surge in cases where sportspeople have faced the wrath of fans on social media. On some occasions, the cases have also gone to extremes, with fans issuing threats to the players. Coco Gauff has been one of the victims of this and she made a concerning admission during an interview in Berlin.
She said, “It’s the worst you can get. Death threats, to your family, to yourself. I’ve had people DM my boyfriend and friends about it. Racist comments, like all you can imagine. Nudity, things like that. It’s a gross kind of thing that we have going on in tennis. It’s something that we have to keep bringing awareness to. I would love for some of the social media platforms to get involved, not only when it comes to tennis players. Influencers, other athletes, they all get these comments, so it’s something that can be addressed.”
Moreover, Coco Gauff also called on the WTA and social media platforms to provide support to the players in such cases. While the players give it their all on the court, fans should be respectful toward their players, knowing that such incidents will only do more harm than good to their stars.
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