The defending champion made quite a statement at the China Open! Coco Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Belinda Bencic, even after dropping the first set to the Swiss player. The American held her nerve in a tense second-set tiebreak, sealing it when Olympic gold medallist Bencic double-faulted on set point. Frustrated, Bencic hurled her racquet. In the end, Gauff closed it out 4-6, 7-6, 6-2. But that wasn’t the only drama of the night!

For those who missed it, the real tension came during a second-set changeover. Bencic accused Coco’s camp of deliberately breaking her focus. “When I’m going to the line ready to serve, they don’t need to cheer,” she told the chair umpire. Then, snapping in Gauff’s direction, she added sharply: “No one’s talking to you. She’s talking to me, okay! I’m too old for these mind games!” Gauff tried to reply, but Bencic’s stern words cut her off. The fiery exchange instantly went viral.

Asked about it later in her press conference, Coco Gauff admitted she wasn’t fully aware during the match. “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.” The second set was already heating up in terms of tennis, with Gauff finally finding her rhythm.

She had actually started strong, holding serve with command and racing out to a 4-1 lead that suggested a quick first set. But Bencic stormed back, stealing five straight games to snatch it. She then struck early again in the second with a break. The 21-year-old stayed calm, though. After missing her first seven break chances, she finally converted to level things at 4-4. She held serve to force the tiebreak, and suddenly both players locked in stride, playing high-level ball. Through all of it, Gauff’s team remained steady and supportive in her box.

As Gauff later explained, “I mean, 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. It doesn’t bother me. I was telling her to be respectful. I’ve been nice with her team off court.”

Before the China Open 2025, the two had already built some history. Gauff had met Bencic five times, leading their head-to-head 3-2 before this match (now 4-2). She also held a 3-1 edge in 2025 alone. Their clashes have always been close, shaping into a sharp rivalry on tour.

Now this clash adds another layer to their story. And for Coco, it comes at a moment of change. She just brought biomechanics guru Gavin MacMillan into her team, and her progress shows after a string of early exits post-French Open. Conditions haven’t been easy in China either, but she’s handled them.

Coco Gauff explains her troubles at the China Open

On Sunday, the 21-year-old defending champ showed why she’s tough to stop in Beijing, grinding past Leylah Fernandez in a three-set battle. Coco needed 2 hours and 45 minutes to seal a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win. But it wasn’t as smooth sailing as the American made it seem! 

At her press conference, Coco Gauff admitted it wasn’t easy. “The conditions were so slow, which I feel like she does well with because she likes to take the ball so early. I felt like my heaviness wasn’t doing much, especially as the balls got older,” she said. That explained why the match lit up in the second as Fernandez forced longer rallies and dragged Coco into a fight.

Gauff still had her spark. She fired an outrageous defensive forehand pass for 4-2, the shot of the match. Serving at 5-2 with a match point, she looked ready to close it. But a forehand error and a flurry of nine double faults let Fernandez storm back to steal the set. “I found when I had new balls, I would win like two or three games in a row,” Gauff explained. “The toughest part was just dealing with the conditions and trying to feel like I could hit through her, but I couldn’t do that as well today as I did earlier this year.”

Still, Coco’s title defense keeps rolling. She’s taken down Kamilla Rakhimova, survived Fernandez’s comeback push, and toppled Belinda Bencic. Next, she faces Germany’s Eva Lys. Momentum on her side, confidence rising. The only question now: can Coco Gauff keep her stride and go all the way again in Beijing?