Coco Gauff addressed the on-court drama with Belinda Bencic after her hard-fought Round of 16 victory at the 2025 China Open. Following a match that saw the defending champion overcome a shaky start to beat Bencic 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, Gauff explained what her opponent had told her team and stressed that she had handled the situation respectfully.
What Exactly Happened Between Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic On Court?
Tensions rose midway through the second set when Bencic, trailing 2-3, expressed irritation at a fan cheering after Gauff had won a point. The Swiss player’s frustration carried over to the changeover, where she spoke to the chair umpire about the behaviour of Gauff’s team.
Bencic 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.”
When Gauff told something to Bencic, the Swiss replied: “No one’s talking to you! She’s talking to me okay! I haven’t started [it]. Your team is chatting… I’m too old for these mind games okay!”
the video clip of this Belinda-Coco exchange: pic.twitter.com/AfNLqHdGFD https://t.co/y2FHzZxvnW
— Christian’s Court (@christianscourt) September 30, 2025
The incident seemed to affect Bencic more than Gauff as the American dominated the rest of the match, winning the final set 6-2.
GAUFF GETS IT DONE 💪@CocoGauff completes the comeback against Bencic over three sets, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 👏#2025ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/4wVgVFSXb0
— wta (@WTA) September 30, 2025
In her post-match press conference, Gauff was asked about the incident and she said that her team told her Bencic told them to “shut up”.
“Yeah, I mean, I knew she said something to my team, but I didn’t know exactly what. They told me she said, ‘Shut up.’ I didn’t hear it, so I can only go based off of what they said. 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,” Gauff explained.
She added, “It doesn’t bother me. 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.”
This win not only advanced Gauff to the quarterfinals, where she will face Germany’s Eva Lys, but also cemented her qualification for the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh, joining Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Świątek.
