"No one's talking to you" - Belinda Bencic furiously accuses Coco Gauff & team for playing 'mind games' during heated China Open interaction

Belinda Bencic furiously accuses Coco Gauff & team for playing
Belinda Bencic furiously accuses Coco Gauff & team for playing 'mind games' during heated China Open interaction. Credit: GETTY

Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic are in the middle of an exciting China Open Round of 16 matchup. It seems Bencic is unhappy with the crowd in Beijing, leaving her upset.

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The incident started during the second set in the sixth game. Bencic was up for serve, and she waited for the crowd support for Gauff to die down. This left Gauff frustrated, and she reportedly said:

"There's nobody in the stadium. It's been so respectful."

Belinda hit back at Gauff, saying:

"They can cheer after the point."
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The boiling point reached a few games later as Bencic took a 4-3 lead after breaking Gauff. When Bencic was resting on her bench, she made the case to the chair umpire over the crowd support. She said:

"When the point is over, it's no problem, I don't care. But when I'm going to the line ready to serve they don't need to cheer."
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Right opposite her, on the other side of the court, was Gauff, hearing all this. She said something, which left Bencic furious. She alleged Gauff and his camp of all the mind games that were happening.

"No one's talking to you. She's talking to me okay! Your team is chatting. I'm too old for these mind games okay!" Bencic said.
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At the time of writing, Coco Gauff is almost at the finish line. After the two players split the first two sets, the American tennis star is leading the third set 5-2.

Coco Gauff hoping to defend China Open

Coco Gauff is playing her first tournament following a fourth-round exit at the hands of Naomi Osaka in the 2025 US Open. She skipped the Billie Jean King Cup finals, where the Americans finished runner-up, but has participated in the ongoing China Open.

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She made a strong start in her title defense. In the first round, she secured a commanding 6-4, 6-0 victory over Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova. Then, Gauff faced a challenging match against Leylah Fernandez. She prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a 2-hour and 45-minute battle. Gauff's issue with double faults was the highlight of the matchup. She committed nine double faults and noted a dip in her first serve percentage during the match.

Even in the ongoing game against Belinda Bencic, she has already committed eight double faults. The issue has plagued her the entire 2025 season, and it seems her preparations are coming up short when it comes to serving at an elite level.

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Edited by Krutik Jain
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