"The angry gamblers are a bit annoying" - Coco Gauff reveals her love for 'block' feature on social media, dismisses complaints about its overuse
Coco Gauff has candidly discussed a challenging aspect of being a professional tennis player, expressing her irritation at having to deal with disgruntled gamblers who have lost their bets. The American also revealed her approach to dealing with such situations.
Gauff, like many of her fellow players, is unfortunately no stranger to dealing with social media abuse, including death threats, harassment and derogatory comments, often triggered by losses that anger gamblers. This issue particularly evident after the 20-year-old's exit from the 2023 WTA finals.
However, the American has devised a clever method of shielding herself from such abuse on social media, which she revealed ahead of her campaign at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
During her pre-tournament press conference, Coco Gauff was asked to share something she loves and something she hates about being a professional tennis player.
The World No. 2 was quick to highlight the emotional connection with the spectators as a huge positive, fondly recounting her endearing experience with a tearful fan who was overwhelmed after achieving his "dream" of meeting her.
"There are many things I love, but surely the best thing about being a tennis player is the connection with people. Last week I met a boy who is my fan. He started to get excited when he met me," she said.
"It's those things and those interactions that make you, seeing that what you do on the court matters, no matter if you're having an amazing time and winning everything or if you're having a hard time and losing. Those interactions with people are so satisfying that they make it all worth it," she added.
However, Gauff also shed light on the darker side of professional tennis, conveying her exasperation with the "annoying" and angry gamblers on social media. She opened up about her reliance on the "block" button to avoid the harassment, despite fans on Twitter complaining about her overuse of the feature.
"I don't like it? Maybe the angry gamblers on social media are a bit annoying, I love the "block" button. There's been talk that I use it a lot on Twitter, but I just say: 'Bye' (laughs)," Coco Gauff said.
"The daily harassment I deal with; death threats, racism, body shaming, it is exhausting" - Coco Gauff on blocking spree after 2023 WTA Finals loss
Coco Gauff's campaign at the 2023 WTA Finals ended in a resounding 6-2, 6-1 loss to compatriot Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. The American also suffered a 6-0, 7-5 defeat to Iga Swiatek in the group stage, following which she went on a blocking spree on social media.
After her exit from the year-end championships, the World No. 2 defended her decision to block the trolls and critics, shedding light on the daily barrage of harassment she had to endure, like death threats, racism and body shaming.
"I only block people who are negative, not my fans. I don’t search for these pages. it comes on my timeline. when you deal with the daily harassment I deal with every single day. death threats, racism, body shaming. etc. it is exhausting. so I try my best to spare myself," she posted on X.
Coco Gauff will hope to be free of any such trolls during her Wimbledon run as she commences her campaign against fellow American Caroline Dolehide. If the 20-year-old triumphs over Dolehide, she will face Olga Danilovic or Anca Todoni in the second round.