Coco Gauff in furious clash with Belinda Bencic at China Open after being accused of ‘mind games’

Coco Gauff was accused of playing “mind games” by opponent Belinda Bencic during a fiery exchange at the China Open in Beijing.

Former Olympic gold medalist Bencic was unhappy with noise from the American’s coaching team during her service games at a mostly empty stadium and vented to the umpire at a changeover.

"I'm going to the line, ready to serve, they don't need to cheer," Bencic said. As Gauff attempted to interject, the Swiss player snapped back: "No one's talking to you. I haven't started. Your team is chatting. I'm too old for these mind games, okay?"

Gauff recovered from the incident to battle from a set down and claim a 4-6 7-6 (4) 6-2 victory, with Bencic continuing to show frustration as she smashed her racket following the decisive second-set tiebreak.

The 21-year-old Gauff has now beaten the 28-year-old Bencic three times this season and the American said after the match that she didn’t like her opponent telling her team to “shut up” during the match.

"I knew she said something to my team, but I didn't know exactly what,” Gauff said. “They told me she said, 'Shut up'. I didn't hear it, so I can only go based off of what they said.

"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. 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.

"Immediately after [the exchange], next game, I was frustrated, threw in three double faults. But after that I was just like, 'OK, I don't want to lose anymore after this point'. I obviously have a lot of respect for Belinda. She's a great player, coming back and playing great tennis as a mom. I obviously wish today didn't happen, but it is what it is."

Gauff, who is the defending champion in Beijing, will play Eva Lys in the quarter-finals. With her victory over Bencic, Gauff is now the third player to book her spot at the WTA Finals after Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

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