Coco Gauff's defeat against Iga
Swiatek in the
WTA Finals sparked fan reactions against the American player.
Gauff's performance in recent
months had positioned her as one of the favorites prior to her arrival in
Cancun. She demonstrated her intent to contend in the tournament in her first
match by overpowering Ons Jabeur with a commanding 6-0, 6-1 victory.
In her second group match, Gauff
faced the 4-times Grand Slam champion, Iga Swiatek, for the 10th time in her
career and once again emerged defeated (6-0, 7-5), further extending Swiatek's
dominant 9-1 head-to-head record over the American.
Swiatek displayed a sublime level
of play and left no room for her opponent, particularly in the first set,
securing her spot in the semifinals. Gauff, on the other hand, will need to
determine if she can advance in her final match against Marketa Vondrousova.
Fans expressed their surprise at
Gauff's loss, given her consistent performance throughout the season, including
three titles since the start of the hardcourt swing and her recent Grand Slam
victory. Notably, several fans who typically comment on Gauff's social media
posts found themselves blocked by the young tennis star:
“About the coco thing and iga being
compared with her twitter activity, well iga does not search up her name after
a loss and mass block people. It is nothing bad she knows usernames but i think
as a professional athlete it is healthy and important to find balance between
social media and other things,” one fan opined.
“This is insane. I literally always
root for her. Like what”
“no cause I didn’t even say anything bad this time?”
“Never said anything bad about her... like girl i get u
are pissed but”
“I think Coco didn't really review all the comments, she
probably just block a certain list based on mental health purposes.”