“No one’s talking to you” – Belinda Bencic furiously accuses Coco Gauff & team for playing ‘mind games’ during heated China Open interaction
In a match that crackled with tension on Beijing’s Diamond Court, world No. 3 Coco Gauff staged a gritty comeback to defeat Belinda Bencic 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 in the Round of 16 at the 2025 China Open on September 30, but the post-match buzz centered on a heated changeover clash where the Swiss veteran accused Gauff’s team of “mind games” to disrupt her focus. The 28-year-old Bencic, returning strongly post-maternity leave after her March 2025 birth, snapped at Gauff during a second-set sit-down: “No one’s talking to you… Your team is chatting. I’m too old for these mind games, okay?” The exchange, captured on broadcast and going viral (over 500k views on X clips), highlighted the psychological edge in women’s tennis, with Gauff firing back that her camp showed “respect” and the stadium had been “so respectful.”
The Match: A Battle of Resilience and Rallies
Gauff, the defending Beijing champion and two-time Grand Slam winner (2023 US Open, 2025 French Open), started strong, breaking early for a 4-1 lead in the opener. But Bencic, the 2019 Olympic doubles gold medalist and 2021 Tokyo singles silver, flipped the script with five straight games, stealing the set 6-4 on a Gauff double fault—her eighth of the match amid a season-long serving struggle (over 300 doubles in 2025). The second set turned into a 70-minute grind, tied at 3-3 when Bencic broke for 4-3, positioning her two games from victory.
Enter the drama: On the changeover, Gauff’s team celebrated a prior winner with applause, which Bencic perceived as timed to rattle her serve. She vented to chair umpire Marija Toepfer: “They can cheer after the point… This is like under-12s tennis.” Gauff interjected from her seat: “I treat your team with respect, you treat my team with respect.” Bencic’s retort—”No one’s talking to you. Your team is chatting. I’m too old for these mind games”—escalated the moment, drawing crowd murmurs. No code violation was issued, but the tension lingered.
The incident fueled Gauff’s “pettiness,” as she later called it, breaking back immediately and dominating the tiebreak 7-4 with four straight points. In the decider, Gauff broke twice for a 6-2 rout, finishing with 38 winners to Bencic’s 25, though her nine double faults (vs. Bencic’s three) underscored ongoing serve tweaks under coach Matt Daly. The 2-hour-20-minute win marked Gauff’s 41st of 2025 (41-12 record) and ninth straight in Beijing (13-1 overall there).
The Clash: Mind Games or Miscommunication?
Bencic, seeded 15th and ranked No. 17 post-maternity (daughter Bella born March 2025), later smashed her racket in frustration after the tiebreak, signaling the outburst’s emotional toll. In her presser, she stood by her complaint: “When I’m going to the line ready to serve, they don’t need to cheer… It’s distracting.” Gauff, 21 and a vocal advocate for mental health, responded post-match: “I obviously have a lot of respect for Belinda… She’s a great player, coming back as a mom. I wish today didn’t happen, but it is what it is.” She admitted the pettiness “helps me play better when I’m annoyed,” crediting it for the turnaround.
Their head-to-head, now 3-1 for Gauff (all hard courts), includes Gauff’s 2023 China Open win over Bencic in the quarters and a 2024 Madrid third-round victory.
| Date/Tournament | Surface | Winner | Score | Key Notes |
|—————–|———|——–|——-|———–|
| Sep 2025 (China Open) | Hard | Gauff | 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 | Mind games clash; Gauff’s 9th straight Beijing win. |
| May 2024 (Madrid Open) | Clay | Gauff | 6-2, 6-4 | Straight-sets dominance. |
| Oct 2023 (China Open) | Hard | Gauff | 6-2, 6-1 | Beijing quarterfinal; Gauff’s title run. |
| Jan 2023 (Adelaide) | Hard | Bencic | 6-2, 7-6(4) | Bencic’s lone win; tiebreak thriller. |
Stakes and Impact: WTA Finals Lock and Momentum
The victory sealed Gauff’s spot in the WTA Finals in Riyadh (November 2-9), joining Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Świątek as the third qualifier—her third straight appearance. She also backed Świątek’s call for a shorter season: “The schedule is too long—players are burning out.” Bencic, with a strong comeback (18-9 in 2025 post-leave), exits earning 108 ranking points but rues the mental lapse.
Gauff advances to the quarters against Eva Lys (who beat McCartney Kessler 4-6, 6-1, 6-2), her first WTA 1000 last eight. A deep run could push her toward a year-end No. 2 ranking.
Fan and Social Buzz: Viral Firestorm
X erupted with clips from @christianscourt (1.2M views), sparking #GauffBencic and #MindGames debates: “Bencic’s ‘too old’ line is savage—mama bear mode!” (@TennisFanatic, 8k likes) vs. “Gauff’s team crossed a line; respect the serve” (@WTAWarrior, 5k retweets). Supporters praised Bencic’s fire as a mom-returning pro, while Gauff’s pettiness drew “queen energy” memes. Analysts like those at The Athletic called it “elite pettiness at its finest,” underscoring tennis’s mental warfare.
At 21, Gauff’s poise amid chaos cements her as a leader; for Bencic, it’s a reminder of her edge post-motherhood. Beijing’s drama? Just another chapter in the WTA’s soap opera.
