Racist remarks were directed against Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen by a US Open spectator
Zheng defeated Vekic 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-2 to secure her spot in the tournament's quarterfinals at 2:15 a.m. on Monday, the latest finish to a women's match in Flushing Meadows history.
Less than a month has passed since the 21-year-old won gold in the Olympic Games in Paris by defeating the same opponent at Roland Garros.
But Zheng's historic win has since been mired in controversy, with rumours circulating that a fan referred to her as a "yellow banana" during the match.
Chinese media reports that the racist epithet was captured on courtside mics. The ensuing video of the event had over 1.65 million views on Weibo, a Chinese social media network, before it was removed.
Users also made the hashtag "Zheng Qinwen fought back racism" one of the most popular ones on the platform.
Zheng reportedly heard the racist slogan for the first time in the second set while he was down 2-0. Later in the match, the Chinese player responded by glancing up at the crowd and mouthing, "I will beat you."
Later in the match, when Zheng was getting ready to serve, there seemed to be more footage of someone yelling "yellow banana, yellow," and cameras captured her coach Pere Riba's response.
The World No. 7 was also had to halt her serve in two different instances when an Asian-looking guy approached his front-row seat.