French tennis player Caroline Garcia allegedly made a racist comment against Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu during their match at the Charleston WTA Premier tournament in the US, according to Romanian media who quoted an information published by tennisforum.com. Begu's coach said he didn't hear Garcia make any remark against the Romanian player. Begu also said she didn't hear anything and the WTA found no evidence in support of the allegations and declared the case closed.

Update 6.04: Caroline Garcia posted an official statement on her Facebook page on Wednesday, April 6. She said that the Romanian fans' accusations were false. "I have always had the up most respect for my opponents and obviously I did not say any such things that I have been accused of," she wrote.

While losing precious points to Begu, Garcia apparently lost her temper and voiced her frustration by calling her opponent a “gipsy” and using some other bad words (similar to what Romania's former President Traian Basescu once used about gipsies). Her offensive comment, which she made in French, was supposedly heard by people in the audience, according to Portuguese publication bolamarela.pt.

However, the alleged comment was not heard on the video recording of the match, according to Stirileprotv.ro. Moreover, Begu's coach said he didn't hear Garcia saying that either.

Irina Begu's reaction came in a Facebook post in which she said she didn't hear her opponent's supposed comment. "I didn't hear this personally or saw any recording to prove this. If such a remark was made, then WTA will surely analyze the situation and take the necessary measures," Begu wrote. She added that she wished to focus on her tennis activity and leave aside any factors that may negatively influence her.

The Romanian beat Garcia in three sets: 6-4, 2-6, 7-6. Irina Begu qualified to the second round of the tournament.

However, the alleged incident raised a whole series of comments in Romania. Former Romanian tennis champion Ilie Nastase said he too had been called a gipsy by French players at Roland Garros. He added that the referee should have stopped the match, according to prosport.ro.

Romanian politician Mircea Geoana and Romanian MEP Catalin Ivan have asked the WTA to investigate this incident. Geoana pointed out that this was not the first racist attack by the French against Romanians.

"The highest level of professional conduct on court is paramount to the WTA and anything less is unacceptable. After thorough investigation, we have found no evidence to support these allegations. This matter is closed," said Steve Simon, WTA CEO.

Many Romanians posted offensive comments against the French tennis player on her Facebook page, on Youtube, and in other social media and forums. Caroline Garcia made no immediate comment on this incident.

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editor@romania-insider.com