'I don't like having confrontation on the court' - Coco Gauff gets candid about tense encounter with Belinda Bencic during China Open

Defending champion Coco Gauff faced a stern challenge during her round of 16 match at the 2025 China Open, but her impressive comeback was almost derailed by an incident that took place during the match.

The American took on Belinda Bencic, who herself has been impressive thus far in Beijing. The Swiss star defeated Gauff at Indian Wells earlier this year, and had been given an outside chance at toppling last year's champion.

The former World No.4 took the first set and seemed prepared to run away with the match. However, Gauff began to rally back as the American was rallied by the crowd and her team.

Bencic did not appear to appreciate the support going Gauff's way, as she voiced her displeasure at the crowd. During a changeover, she complained to the umpire, stating Gauff's team was distracting her during her serve.

Gauff clears the air post-match

As Bencic argued with the umpire, Gauff would interject in defense of her team. However, this only seemed to anger the Swiss woman, who lashed out at the American.

"No one's talking to you," said Bencic. "She's talking to me okay! Your team is chatting. I'm too old for these mind games okay!"

The match would continue without incident, as Gauff would go on to win the second set in a tiebreak before closing out the match behind a 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2 victory.

Gauff would not make any reference to their dispute during her on-court interview. However, she shed a little more light on the situation in her post-match conference.

"I knew she said something to my team, but I didn't know exactly what," began Gauff. "They told me she said, Shut up. I didn't hear it, so I can only go based off of what they said. I mean, I guess she was upset about them cheering. For me, the stadium is silent, so you hear both teams. I played previous rounds, both my matches I could hear the other teams pretty loud and clear, because it is silent."

The World No.3 would state she tried to be respectful of Bencic, and hoped the issue could be put to rest as she is not confrontational in nature.

"It doesn't bother me," continued the Atlanta native. "I was telling her to be respectful. I've been nice with her team off court. We've been nice with each other. I just didn't like that comment towards my team. Yeah, that was it. I mean, we moved on after that. I haven't spoken to her since. She's entitled to how she felt and I'm entitled to how I respond.
"I'm not a confrontational person. I don't like having confrontation on the court. I definitely don't like that. I mean, it happens. It's sport. Yeah, I'm happy that today went my way."

The top-ranked American will take on German Eva Lys in the quarterfinals on Thursday.