Musetti Apologizes to Chinese Fans After Controversy at the China Open
Italian tennis player Lorenzo Musetti has joined the list of tennis stars who have extended apologies to Chinese fans. The incident occurred during his round of 32 match at the China Open in Beijing. Musetti, visibly annoyed, reacted to the persistent coughing coming from the audience during his match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Friday. After a point, the tennis player imitated a person clearing their throat and expressed in Italian: “They cough every three seconds.” Some local media also accused him of muttering “damn Chinese.”Musetti also acknowledged that the way he expressed himself was incorrect and inappropriate, and that it hurt the feelings of many Chinese fans. The reaction on social media was immediate, and the controversy generated a wave of outrage. Users commented on one of his previous Instagram posts, accusing him of being racist and including insults and offenses towards Italian culture.This is not the only recent case of this type. American tennis player Taylor Townsend also apologized on September 17 for derogatory comments about Chinese food, made before a United States match against Kazakhstan in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen, China. Townsend had posted videos of local dishes, including frogs and turtles, and joked about the need to “talk to Human Resources” about the quality of the food. After facing online criticism, he also apologized on Instagram, stating that “everyone has been very kind and generous.”I want to sincerely apologize for what I said yesterday during my match due to frustration. My words were only directed at a few people in the crowd who were repeatedly coughing and disrupting the game. They were in no way directed at the Chinese people. It happened in a moment of stress and tension in the second tiebreak, but even so, this is no excuse at all.
Lorenzo Musetti
