The Spanish tennis star Paula Badosa has apologised after she was accused of racism over a photo that appeared to show her pulling her eyes back with chopsticks while in China for a series of tournaments.

Following her defeat on Saturday in the semi-finals of the China Open, Badosa’s coach, Pol Toledo, posted the photo on his Instagram, tagging the official China Open account. Comments soon began pouring in, accusing Badosa of racism.

The 26-year-old former world No 2 swiftly responded, urging people not to interpret the photo in that way. “We weren’t even imitating Asian people,” she wrote in response. “I was playing around with my face and wrinkles.”

She continued: “I love Asia … and have plenty of Asian friends. They are the kindest.” Toledo later deleted the photo from his Instagram account.

Before Tuesday’s appearance at the Wuhan Open, Badosa apologised. “Really sorry, I didn’t know this was offensive (or) towards racism,” she wrote on social media. “My mistake. I take full responsibility.”

She added that she hoped people would understand and said she would learn from her mistake.

Badosa, who is ranked No 15 in the world, later withdrew from the event in Wuhan, citing a gastrointestinal illness. She did not reply to a request for comment from the Guardian.

The accusations against Badosa marked the second time that Spanish athletes have fended off accusations of racism while in China. Before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Spain’s basketball federation published an advert for their men’s team that showed players using their fingers to pull at the sides of their eyes.

After it emerged that the women’s basketball team – as well as the Spanish tennis federation – had published similar photos, the basketball star Pau Gasol apologised and blamed a sponsor for insisting that players make the gesture.

“It was just a bad idea to do that. It was never intended to be offensive or racist against anybody,” he said in 2008. “If anyone feels offended by it, we totally apologise for it.”