Lorenzo Musetti has become the latest tennis star to apologise to Chinese fans.
“I am truly sorry. I respect you deeply, I feel at home here, and I value the warmth and kindness I have always received from you,” the 23-year-old Italian said in a message he posted Saturday on social media.
Musetti was annoyed by coughing in the crowd during his round-of-32 win on Friday against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the China Open in Beijing.
“I would like to sincerely apologise for what I said in frustration yesterday during my match,” Musetti wrote on Instagram. “My words were directed only at a few individuals in the crowd who were coughing repeatedly and disturbing the play. They were never, in any way, meant for the Chinese people. It happened in a moment of stress and tension in the second tiebreak, but still, this is no excuse at all.”
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He added: “I realise that the way I expressed myself was wrong and inappropriate, and it hurt many Chinese fans’ feelings.”
American tennis star Taylor Townsend apologised on September 17 for making disparaging comments about Chinese food before the United States played Kazakhstan at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen, China.
Townsend had posted videos of local dishes including bullfrogs and turtles and joked she would need to “talk to HR” about the quality of the food. She took to Instagram again to apologise after facing a backlash online and said “everyone has been so kind and so gracious.”
Published on Sep 27, 2025