Lorenzo Musetti's China Open campaign came to a heartbreaking end in the quarterfinals. The Italian sustained a thigh injury during his last eight battle against Learner Tien and subsequently retired mid-match. As he was leaving the court though, Musetti was heavily jeered by the Beijing crowd. The Italian stared at the booing fans for a few seconds before finally leaving the court for good. This prompted several tennis fans to react.The incessant boos for the World No. 9 stemmed from some controversial remarks he made while playing an earlier match at the tournament. Frustrated by the coughing of some fans during the match, Musetti said:"Those damn Chinese... they're always coughing!" (translated from Italian)Unsurprisingly, many fans, particularly those of Chinese origin, accused Lorenzo Musetti of being racist. The 23-year-old later issued an apology, clarifying that his comments were aimed only at the coughing fans. However, this did very little to appease the Chinese fans, and this was evident from the scenes that unfolded following his mid-match retirement in the quarterfinals.Musetti not a fan of being booed just before he walked off the court, briefly staring at the crowd byu/jovanmilic97 intennisSeveral tennis fans on Reddit reacted to the way Musetti was jeered and how he responded by staring at the crowd."Musetti outta no where just diving head first into that villain arc," one fan wrote."I think Musetti is proof that pretty privilege also exists for men. He’s actually a bit of a d**k and says all kinds of weird s**t on court," commented another."Apparently his apology was not accepted," another fan chimed in."Safe to say he’ll be heading to Tokyo next year," joked one, suggesting that Musetti's experience in Beijing this year will lead to him playing at the Japan Open next year instead of the China Open."“These Japanese are so weird with all the bowing” -> 2 days later “Why do they keep booing me in these Asian tournaments?”," another weighed in, responding playfully to the previous reaction."Bro is gonna withdraw from Shanghai due to mysterious injury lmfao," yet another fan joked.Lorenzo Musetti not the only high-profile tennis player to face the wrath of Chinese fans; American Taylor Townsend previously stirred controversy with her criticism of country's cuisineTaylor Townsend (Source: Getty)Before Lorenzo Musetti's China Open drama, Taylor Townsend faced flak for taking swipes at Chinese cuisine. Townsend was appalled by many of the preparations players were served at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen.The American shared multiple posts via her social media, through which she ridiculed some of the preparations (turtle, bullfrog) and wondered how the people of China eat the same. It didn't take long for Chinese fans to slam Townsend, both online and at Shenzhen.Just like Lorenzo Musetti did recently, the American too, apologized, but to little avail. Following Team USA's loss to Italy in the final of the international women's team tennis event, Townsend withdrew from the China Open in Beijing citing a schedule change. However, there was speculation that the American's withdrawal was a result of the Chinese fans' criticism of her over her controversial takes on the country's cuisine.