Tennis star Coco Gauff has shared her thoughts on the negative aspects of celebrity and her way of dealing with online abuse.
The 20-year-old, who has been a lively presence on the tour for the past five years, acknowledged that she uses burner accounts as a protective barrier against negativity.
Explaining her strategy for fan interaction and social media engagement in the face of a barrage of unwanted comments, Gauff stated that it simply depends on the platform before disclosing particular habits related to various platforms.
Gauff expressed her remarks about online abuse and said: “Obviously, it’s tough. Especially when I was younger, I had no idea that this was a thing. I just thought at first that I was being targeted. Then I realized everybody was getting it. It’s tough because you hear a lot of nasty things, and people, like, talk about your appearance, your family’s appearance, and all these things. If you are already struggling with your own mental issues and on top of that you have people digging deeper, it is tough. I personally just block. I’m someone, I will literally spend 30 minutes blocking all the people. I really don’t care. I know it’s a little, small thing on Twitter because I was blocking so many people. They are, like, ‘You say anything, and she blocks.’ Yes, I do (laughing).”
She added: “I don’t want to see it, so bye. So, yeah, it was a thing. People got mad. I was, like, I don’t really care. 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. Obviously, the block can only do so much. People make new accounts. I don’t know if it’s just for players. I just try not to read it as much or take it too personally, but it is getting to the point where, you know, I know that a lot of tournaments are trying to step in and have different Al things.”
She concluded her discussion: “I hope as technology increases, that can help. It is tough, and you could be having a good day, and then somebody will literally tell you, ‘Oh, go kill yourself.’ You’re, like, Okay, thanks. I hope that players continue not to look at it, especially Caroline. She’s a super nice girl. It sucks, but I hope people, I mean, I always say people can be more mindful and be kinder, but you know, millions of people have said that, and only a few listen. Hopefully, the Al stuff can help in the future.”
Coco Gauff on online harassment, ‘I will literally spend 30 minutes blocking all the people… Just as you’re entitled to write that, I’m entitled to block it… I don’t want to see it, so bye’
“Caroline García posted about the abuse she received after she lost. Obviously it’s not… pic.twitter.com/LpZ5BySUKz
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 29, 2024
Gauff at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2024
WWLLWLWWLW Ranked world no.3, Coco has achieved a composed 40-14 record in 2024. Coco is now having a run at the U.S. Open where she overcame the world no.66 Varvara Gracheva 6-2 6-0 and the world no.99 Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-0.
Coco Gauff will compete against the world no.267 Sinja Kraus in the . In the past, they have never competed against each other up to now on the main tour.
Gauff has won 1 title in 2024 in Auckland.
The American won 7 titles in her career: 5 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
