"I can’t see the ball, I feel like I’m going to pass out." - Coco Gauff suffers from 'lack of energy' as Elise Mertens deals fatal China Open blow

It was evident that something was not right about Coco Gauff's game in the last-16 of the China Open. She was unable to muster up the game as she fell to a 6-3, 6-3 defeat against Elise Mertens, losing to the Belgian for the first time in six meetings with other topcs away from tennis possibly taking precedence.

Gauff was not her usual self on court. She could not conjure up a winning performance, leaving her vulnerable against a class opponent in the form of Mertens, who took command, and would not face the synonymous battling Gauff, who could not create any response to this deficit.

From the off, the Belgian was on the front foot. Failing to convert a break point in the opening game, she soon got her nose out in front en route to a 3-1 lead. Gauff broke back to love two games later, but Mertens restored her lead and backed it with a commanding hold to move within one game of the first set.

It took many chances for her to actually get over the line. Mertens led 0-40 against the serve, but Gauff fought back to deuce, surviving another brace of set-winning opportunities before he managed to get over the line with a sixth set point.

It would not get any better for Gauff. Mertens dropped just four points in the opening three games of the second set, racing into a 3-0 lead. There was nothing coming back, with Gauff's synonymous battling game not on for show. 4-1 down, Gauff could be heard saying, "I have no energy. I’m trying, I have no energy. I can’t see the ball, I feel like I’m going to pass out. I’m going to just try to finish the match.”

Mertens failed to make it a double-break lead in the sixth game, but that would not matter as she saw it out on serve. With a second match point, she finally defeated Gauff for the very first time and is in the China Open quarter-final. It was a competition that she did not have much luck in having, never having made it past the third round. She is now in a first WTA 1000 quarter-final of 2026 and has another tough test in the form of Iga Swaitek.

The 30-year-old acknowledged her opponent after the match while giving a special mention to her coach. “She’s an incredible player of course. I knew it was gonna be a very tough match. I had motivation. My coach… my boyfriend, it’s his birthday tomorrow. For me, this win is dedicated to him and all the work we do.”

For Gauff, it is a frustrating setback in a tournament that she had been so good in over the years. In three prior editions, she made the semi-finals in 2023 and 2025 while winning the event in 2024. This year is different, with off-court events also taking the spotlight.

Gauff was at the centre of controversy against Xinran Sun. A hindrance call in particular did not go down well with many tennis fans, with a lot of abuse and nasty messages being sent her way. This included racist abuse, something that the American personally called out on X.

"Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist," Gauff wrote. "The amount of racist comments/dms I've received in the last few hours is insane."

This sad turn of events may have impacted her in the last-16 tussle against Mertens. It was obvious that she was not at her 100% best, lacking energy to compete at the highest level. Gauff will now look to reset and focus on the next tournament. She goes into the Wuhan Open as the defending champion and will hope to get back to her best form in the final WTA 1000 tournament of the year.