Gauff and the hatred on social media: "It's the worst thing that can happen to you"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 20 Jun 2025 | 14.04

Gauff and the hate on social media: "It's the worst thing that can happen to you, receiving death threats, to your family and to yourself." Photo: Getty Images

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The joint report by WTA and ITF revealing the extent of online abuse in the world of tennis is devastating. 40% of the hate messages and threats received by tennis players are related to online betting. Several players have already spoken out on this issue. The first was Katie Boulter, followed by Carlos Alcaraz, and the latest to join is Coco Gauff.

The newly crowned champion of Roland Garros talked about it at the WTA in Berlin, before falling in the first round to China's Wang Xin, expressing deep concern about the current situation: "It's the worst thing that can happen to you. Death threats, to your family, to yourself. I've had people sending Direct Messages on Instagram to my boyfriend and friends about it. Racist comments, everything you can imagine. Nudes, things like that. It's disgusting what's happening in tennis," denounces the world number two, as reported by Tennis365.

Asks for help from social media

Apart from lamenting what many tennis players are going through, the Atlanta native also calls on social media to provide more assistance and control over these messages they receive. And not only for tennis players, but also for other athletes who face this kind of hunting: "It's something we have to continue to raise awareness about. I would love for some of the social media platforms to get involved, not just when it comes to tennis. Influencers, other athletes, everyone receives these comments, so it's something that can be addressed."

The American appreciates the help they receive from the women's circuit. While stating that the social network 'Tik Tok' allows filtering and avoiding harsh comments. However, the worst comes through Instagram: "I know the WTA is doing what they can to make us feel protected, but I definitely think many of these platforms can also intervene. I think TikTok does a better job filtering comments, so you really don't see them. But Instagram is, for me, the worst with comment filtering."

Gauff reveals that she manages her own social media and therefore reads each and every insult, threat, and disrespect she receives: "I see it all. I try to do it on my own account, filter out certain words, but people get creative and write them in different ways," confesses the American about a topic that tennis players are increasingly speaking out about and are fed up with a situation for which they do not see a short or medium-term solution.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Gauff y el odio en las redes sociales: "Es lo peor que te puede pasar"