Veteran tennis star Serena Williams has chimed in on the recent discourse surrounding Coco Gauff. After footage surfaced of Coco Gauff smashing her racket in what she thought was a private moment, social media wasted no time sharing their various opinions on the matter–including Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian.
“NGL I love this energy and emotion from @CocoGauff,” Ohanian wrote on X. “We love sports because it’s raw, because these athletes put their ALL into the battle and sometimes (like life) you don’t win. Media are gonna spin this private moment for a headline to get some clicks, but Coco did nothing wrong here.”
Williams, a 23 Grand Slam champion echoed her husband’s sentiments tweeting: “Well said. @alexisohanian Passion. Caring. Matters. Nothing wrong with hating to lose. Now Coco when you want I can show you how to demolish in one swipe… Serena style.”
Though Gauff replied with hearts and laughing emojis to Williams’ offer, the tennis star had more to say about the viral moment in a press conference. As previously reported by theGrio, the 21-year-old says she “tried to go somewhere where there were no cameras,” before releasing her emotions after losing to Elina Svitolina, 6-1, 6-2. While she thinks this incident may spark some much-needed conversation about player privacy during tournaments like the Australian Open, she explains the moment was intended to be personal.
“I think for me, I know myself, and I don’t want to lash out on my team. They’re good people. They don’t deserve that, and I know I’m emotional,” Gauff explained. “I just took the minute to go and do that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Like I said, I don’t try to do it on court in front of kids and things like that, but I do know I need to let out that emotion…Just need to let the frustration out.”
