After losing his first round match in the 2024 US Open, French player Caroline Garcia, who has been semifinalist in the tournament, revealed that she received hateful comments on her social media accounts, which even include death threats against her and her family. Paula Badosa and Jessica Pegula showed their support, and now Coco Gauff is joining the conversation.
Gauff, 20, revealed that her way of dealing with online haters is blocking people. “I’m not entitled to read negative things about myself. Just as you’re entitled to write that, I’m entitled to block it. It is unfortunate,” she said during a press conference.
She even joked that people on X (formerly Twitter) know she is quick to block. “They are, like, ‘You say anything, and she blocks.’ Yes, I do,” she admitted with a laugh. “I don’t want to see it, so bye,” she added. Gauff is now set to play Elina Svitolina in the third round.
The US Open champion also showed her support to Garcia, calling her “a super nice girl.” Gauff also said that she expects that tournaments can use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to help with the online abuse received by players.
Gauff has previously spoken about TikTok helping her
Social media is definitely a double edged sword for many athletes. While they face online abuse, sometimes they can also get positive feedback to help them. Gauff herself said earlier in the tournament that a TikTok comment made her feel more confident ahead of the competition.
“Someone commented on my TikTok saying you’ve won in life, literally and figuratively, and there’s no point in piling pressure on yourself on a victory lap,” she explained. “I’m just treating this tournament like that and if you defend something that means you won something,” she added.