"Ok, I'm getting too addicted": Coco Gauff reveals unexpected reason why she deleted Twitter

Coco Gauff may be one of the most focused and disciplined athletes on the WTA Tour. Still, even the world number 2 is not immune to a little off-court distraction, in this case, courtesy of reality TV, teen drama, and the ever-tempting scroll of social media.

Fresh off a convincing start at the 2025 Cincinnati Open, Gauff admitted in a post-match press conference that she had deleted X (formerly Twitter) from her phone. The reason? A confessed "addiction" fuelled by two shows, Love Island and The Summer I Turned Pretty, combined with the nonstop chatter of Tennis Twitter.

"I had to delete Twitter after last week because I’m too involved with Love Island. And then Tennis Twitter’s coming up, and you know, there’s all this drama from that and Love Island," Gauff said with a laugh after defeating Xinyu Wang 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.

The 21-year-old two-time singles Grand Slam champion revealed that even shows she had not seen were pulling her in via the app’s trending feed.
"Then for some reason, The Summer I Turned Pretty was coming up, and I’d never watched that, but I was into it even though I wasn't watching the show! I was like, ‘Ok, I’m getting too addicted.’ So, I have no Twitter on my phone anymore.".

Gauff’s decision to cut out the app comes as she looks to regain momentum following a string of mixed performances over the summer. Despite her win in Cincinnati, her last two tournaments have been less than ideal. At Wimbledon, she was a heavy favourite in her first-round clash against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, boasting a 3-0 head-to-head record going in. However, the match unravelled with costly double faults at key moments, and Yastremska capitalised, claiming a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory in just over an hour.

The double-fault trouble followed Gauff to the Canadian Open in Montreal, where she fell to Canada’s Victoria Mboko, the eventual champion, in the fourth round. It was a frustrating run for the 10-time WTA Tour singles titleist, who is known for her powerful baseline game and mental resilience.

Now, at Cincinnati, Gauff appears to be hitting reset, not only on the court but also in her daily habits. Cutting off her Twitter access could be a strategic move to avoid the noise and drama that comes with a high-profile career in the social media age. For many players, the online tennis community can be both supportive and relentless, with match results sparking instant reactions, heated debates, and endless speculation.

The American will next face Yastremska again, a potentially tense rematch just weeks after the Wimbledon upset.  It is the kind of matchup that’s bound to ignite discussion online, though Gauff might be happily oblivious this time around.

Before Yastremska’s straight-sets win at Wimbledon this year, Gauff had beaten her three times in a row. The rivalry began at the 2024 Madrid Open, where Gauff claimed a 6-4, 6-1 victory, and continued at the French Open the same year with another straight-sets triumph, 6-2, 6-4. In April 2025, the pair clashed again in Madrid, with Gauff staging a comeback from a first-set bagel to win 0-6, 6-2, 7-5.

If she were to get past her Ukrainian foe, the American may face either the number 23 seed Jelena Ostapenko or Italian star Lucia Bronzetti, who upset number 15 seed Daria Kastakina in a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 victory.

The former Latvian got an extra day of rest as she experienced a walkover in her last round due to Camila Osorio withdrawing from their battle.

Looking into potential quarterfinal matchups, Gauff could have a tough match seeing either the number 7 seed Jasmine Paolini or former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.

Either way, Coco Gauff has a long way to go before thinking about winning this WTA 1000 title.