US tennis star Coco Gauff has opened up humorously about how she deals with social media harassment, jokingly poking fun at the negativity that circulates on platforms like X (formerly Twitter). Despite her growing popularity and success, Gauff, like many athletes, is not immune to online harassment. However, the young tennis sensation has found a way to dodge the hate: by focusing on fashion criticism instead.
Fresh off her dominant second-round win at the US Open, Gauff spoke about her strategy of avoiding any kind of negativity on social media during her press conference. Gauff’s humor comes at a time when the dark side of social media abuse is being highlighted by fellow players like Caroline Garcia. Garcia, a former US Open semifinalist, recently spoke about the relentless cyberbullying she faced following her early exit from the tournament this year.
“I go on Twitter after games just to see what people think of my outfit,” she joked, revealing her selective browsing habit. This approach allows her to stay connected with her fans without being weighed down by the negativity that often plagues athletes online… Oh, and I also looked up Naomi’s (Osaka) because I kept hearing about it but hadn’t seen it, and her outfit is great too,” Gauff said.
“You hear a lot of mean things, people talk about your appearance, your family’s appearance and all these things,” she said. “When you’re already struggling with your own mental health issues and then you have all these people digging even deeper, it’s hard,” Gauff added.
Gauff’s humor comes at a time when the dark side of social media abuse by fellow players like Caroline Garcia is being highlighted. Garcia, a former US Open semifinalist, recently talked about the relentless cyberbullying She faced harrowing examples following her early exit from this year’s tournament. The French player, a seasoned professional player, recounted harrowing examples of messages telling her to harm herself and her family being attacked, mostly by angry players.
