Coco Gauff is the new French Open champion as she silenced her critics to get her hands on a second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
Gauff overcame the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, to claim glory in a match that lived up to the pre-game billing.
Martina Navratilova hailed Gauff after her win, but not everyone has been so complimentary over the American player since she burst onto the scene several years ago.
Gauff is still only 21-years-old and it’s quite scary to think what the player could still go on and achieve in the modern era as a tennis player.
Sabalenka was full of praise for Gauff’s efforts against her, but for whatever reason, the youngster has not always been able to completely convince everyone of her quality.
Andy Roddick shares why Coco Gauff gets so much criticism after French Open win
It’s not easy being Gauff, and since winning her maiden Grand Slam title in 2023, she has found the pressure of expectation a lot to handle.
However, Gauff isn’t an unlikable person, and it’s strange that so many seem desperate to put the mockers on her success so much.
Roddick thinks he knows exactly why people give Gauff so much criticism and has elaborated after her latest win.
He said on the Served podcast: “Congratulations to Coco Gauff. I’m happy for tennis. I’m happy for her because I just like and respect her so much.
“And I think she takes a lot of criticism all the time because she is wildly famous and wildly successful and wildly marketable and we wildly need to talk about her all the time. And therefore, it probably leans to the point where she’s sick and tired of hearing from us. And you know what? Happy to shut up. Happy to.
“Way to go, Coco. You’re a champion, Roland Garros champion, US Open champion. Second of many more, I think, and props to Aryna Sabalenka, a hell of a run.”
Gauff must now focus on her best run at Wimbledon
Despite her brilliance at Roland Garros, Gauff has never gone beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon, and now she must believe that things can change.
Sabalenka will probably go into the next Grand Slam as the favourite, given that she’s the world number one and continues reaching major finals.
However, Gauff must now have the confidence and belief that she can achieve a career best at the Grand Slam that all the players look forward to.
It’s a common trend with modern sport that people bizarrely choose to hate on successful and intelligent people who happen to get a lot of spotlight.
Gauff just needs to keep going about her business in her usual positive way and forget about any ill feelings that anybody might have towards her.
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