Don't Provoke Gauff": Stubbs Surprised by Bencic's Clash in Beijing

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Jules Hypolite

le 01/10/2025 à 23h10

2 min to read

Bencic Gauff Pékin

Rennae Stubbs believes Bencic let her emotions get the better of her at the wrong moment. A loss of composure that benefited Coco Gauff in a thrilling match.

In the round of 16 in Beijing, Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic had an exchange during a changeover in the second set. The Swiss player complained to the chair umpire about what she deemed overly loud encouragement from Gauff's team before addressing the American player directly.

A tense sequence that later worked in Gauff's favor, even though she was struggling in the match. The two-time Grand Slam champion eventually won 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.

Former player Rennae Stubbs reacted to this moment on her podcast. She stated she doesn't understand Bencic's reaction, believing she should have shown more maturity:

"There were 12 people in the stands, and Coco even said that during the changeover. There's no one in the stands, so of course you're going to hear them louder than if the stadium were full. I'll tell you one thing: if you're in a position to win a match, which Belinda was at one point, you just have to keep playing.

You shouldn't add fuel to the fire, especially with someone like Coco. You shouldn't push her to fight back like she did in the second set. It's just crazy that players lose their cool like that. I used to say the same thing back in the day about Serena (Williams), don't play with fire.

I'm sure Coco was in her zone at that moment, but she thought to herself: 'Now I'm going to focus because you're disrespecting my team and me.'

Don't provoke anyone, and especially not Coco Gauff because she is one of the most respected players on the tour and she won't tolerate it.