BEIJING (AP) — Lorenzo Musetti has become the latest tennis star to apologize to Chinese fans.
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, where he shouted “these (expletive) Chinese are always coughing.”
That outburst prompted a flurry of outrage on social media, with people commenting on one of his previous Instagram posts to accuse Musetti of being a racist, along with insults and slurs against the Italian culture.
“I would like to sincerely apologize for what I said in frustration yesterday during my match,” Musetti continued in Saturday's post. “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.”
He added: “I realize that the way I expressed myself was wrong and inappropriate, and it hurt many Chinese fans’ feelings.”
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 apologize after facing a backlash online and said “everyone has been so kind and so gracious.”
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