"It's disgusting," Gauff speaks out about hate messages on social media
Defeated in her opening match at the WTA 500 tournament in Berlin by Wang Xinyu (6-3, 6-3), Coco Gauff hasn’t prepared optimally for Wimbledon, which begins later this month. The American player, ranked world No. 2 and recently crowned champion at Roland-Garros, spoke at a press conference after her loss.
The 21-year-old addressed the hot topic in tennis over the past few days: the release of the first joint report by the WTA and ITF regarding the online abuse many female players face on social media.
"It’s the worst thing you can experience. Death threats, aimed at your family or even yourself. I’ve had people send private messages to my boyfriend and some of my friends about it.
These are racist comments, as you can imagine, nudity, things like that. It’s disgusting, and it’s a serious issue we have in tennis.
This is a topic we need to keep bringing attention to. I’d like to see social media platforms get involved, not just the players. Influencers, other athletes—everyone receives these kinds of messages.
I know the WTA is doing everything it can to protect us as much as possible, but I also think the platforms themselves have a role to play. I see all kinds of messages on social media.
I try to manage it myself on my account. I filter certain words, but people are getting more creative and always find ways to make their messages appear in different forms," Gauff told Tennis365.
Two, the death threats should be investigated by law enforcement.
Three, in these days we have to take into consideration all the gambling that goes on. If someone has a large sum of money a match, they just might put out some bad vibes to their opponent.