"The girlfriend he abused probably thought the same before dating him" - Tennis fans lash out at Coco Gauff for speaking in favor of Nick Kyrgios

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has created quite a stir on the tennis circuit for his antics both on and off the court. American teenager Coco Gauff recently spoke in favor of the 27-year-old. At her recent press conference after her third-round win against Madison Keys at the US Open, Gauff spoke about her friendship with Kyrgios and stated that she does not perceive him to be a bad person.

However, Gauff's comments about the Australian have led to criticism being levied at the American on Twitter.

One fan reminded the teenager about Kyrgios' ex-girlfriend accusing him of assault.

"The girlfriend he abused probably thought the very same before dating him, Coco (Gauff) .They all are not “the bad guys", " tweeted the user.

Another user pointed out that Kyrgios' good demeanor towards Gauff wasn't indicative of how he was as a person.

"Just because he’s nice to you, doesn’t mean he’s a good person in general… Coco please you can do better than this," tweeted another user.

Below are some more tweets criticizing Gauff for her statement.

Coco Gauff credits Nick Kyrgios for helping to boost her career

Coco Gauff at the 2022 US Open - Day 5

Coco Gauff has been in quite the form at the ongoing US Open. Following her dominant third-round win over compatriot Madison Keys at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff shed some light on the Australian's influence over her career in her post-match press conference.

Coco Gauff complimented Kyrgios' serve before touching on his controversial on-court behavior and added that she thought the Aussie was "a nice person."

“I think he has a great serve,” Gauff said about Kyrgios. “I mean, I don't talk about his on-court game. We all know he's great. I know there's things on the court that he does that people don't agree with. I probably don't agree with some things," she said.

“Overall, I think he's a nice person. At least he's always been to me. I remember I first hit with him, he probably doesn't remember this, I was 13 years old at Miami Open. He finished his practice, hit with me for, like, 30 minutes," she added.

Speaking on how Kyrgios complimented her game and took time out of his schedule to practice with her as a kid, she stated that hearing positive feedback from a player of Kyrgios' stature gave her the confidence to believe in herself.

"I think, in the end it helped me in the long run as a player hitting with him. He told me good things about my game. At that time I'm like, Nick Kyrgios thinks I'm a good player. You start to believe that and gain confidence in that," she said.