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Several tennis fans were disappointed at seeing Coco Gauff focus her attention towards online comments during her 2023 US Open press conference on Saturday.
Despite losing the first set, Gauff made a remarkable comeback to defeat Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium. During her post-match interview, Coco Gauff said she regularly reads online comments that criticize her performances.
She even disclosed that she was aware of the usernames of those who post negative comments, and expressed her eagerness to open X (formerly Twitter) after having won her maiden Grand Slam.
"I don't know I just felt like you know people are like oh she's hit her peak and she's done and that it was all hype. I see the comments. People think I don't see. I see them. I am very aware of tennis Twitter. I know y'alls usernames. So, I know who's talking trash and I can't wait to look on Twitter right now," Gauff said.
Many fans were surprised to see Coco Gauff giving so much attention to the people who criticized her. They took to social media to express their reactions.
One fan said that Gauff has a lot to learn as people are entitled to their opinions, and that responding with "arrogance" is not the right approach.
"Coco has a lot to learn. People are entitled to their opinions of her. Does she have to agree with them of course not. Acting like an arrogant brat is not the way to handle them either. You just ignore them and keep doing what you were doing before. I never thought I'd see Coco do that," the fan posted.
Another fan said it was disappointing to see Coco Gauff directing her attention towards a handful of critical voices on social media despite having the support of nearly 23,000 people during the final.
"She's not the first to feel this way, but to have 23,000 people in person, multiple Presidents, various sports icons, Tier A celebrities, all going nuts for you on the day you basically became a Hall of Famer and still be focused on a few scattered Twitter accounts...whew," the fan wrote.
Here are a few more fan reactions:
Coco Gauff set to rise to World No. 3 after winning the 2023 US Open
Coco Gauff will ascend to the third position in the WTA rankings on Monday, September 11, which will mark her career-best ranking. This is a direct outcome of the 2,000 points she earned from her title run at the 2023 US Open.
The surge in the rankings will also see the 19-year-old dethrone Jessica Pegula as the American No. 1 player. Pegula's ranking will plummet to No. 5 while former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina will retain her position as the World No. 4.
Coco Gauff currently holds 6,165 ranking points, a considerably lower number than Iga Swiatek's 8,195. However, Aryna Sabalenka has surpassed Swiatek by a significant margin of over 1,000 points, boasting an impressive total of 9,266 points.
Marketa Vondrousova, Ons Jabeur, Karolina Muchova, Maria Sakkari, and Caroline Garcia occupy the remaining positions in the top 10 of the WTA rankings.
