Coco Gauff admitted that she has even been taking advice from her fans on social media after beating Sorana Cirstea.
Gauff overcame continued serving woes to beat Cirstea 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
This is already the best result Gauff has ever achieved at the Miami Open, despite having been a set down in her opening two matches.
Gauff was noticeably coming to the net more in her match against Cirstea, and she has revealed that this is something she did after seeing a fan telling her to do so on social media.
Coco Gauff claims she has been coming to the net more following fan advice
Gauff is a former doubles world number one and has also won a Grand Slam title in doubles, but she is not known for coming to the net in singles.
However, it was evident that was something she was trying to do more against Cirstea, and in her on-court interview after the match Gauff revealed that she was following advice from a fan on social media.
“Honestly, I saw a tweet that said I should go to the net more and I was like yeah you’re right, I win a lot of net points and I honestly was thinking about that on match point,” said Gauff. “I was just thinking that I hope I don’t miss the volley in the net, because I’ve done that a couple times, but I was just focused on hitting it over the net.”
Prove us wrong…
Gauff was then asked a follow-up question about these comments in her post-match press conference, where she clarified that it was not Twitter (X) where she saw these comments and actually Threads.
The world number four then claimed that she is ‘not the best volleyer’, but Gauff explained that volleys are sometimes the best play to stop overthinking.
“Yeah, actually I saw it on Threads,” Gauff clarified. “I got confused, it wasn’t Twitter. I’m on a Twitter break. Yeah, Twitter is a bit toxic. I actually haven’t been on like in a month or two months. I saw it on Threads.
“Yeah, I guess I have to remember that part of my game. It’s something we do practice a lot, my coaches encourage a lot. I think just in the match situations just trying to remember what you practice and trusting that.
“Yeah, I consider myself as someone who can volley decently well. I’m obviously not the best volleyer, but definitely not the worst. I think trying to remember that I can come up with some good volleys.
“Also sometimes volleys are the easiest play because it’s the least amount of thinking. It is really hard to overthink a volley.”
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
Coco Gauff vs Belinda Bencic Head-to-Head
Gauff will need to play the right tactics in her next match when she plays Belinda Bencic, who knocked out Amanda Anisimova in her fourth round match.
This will be a seventh meeting between the two players, with four of these matches taking place last year, as Gauff leads the head-to-head against Bencic 4-2.
There was even a little bit of drama in their most recent match, with Gauff left annoyed by Bencic’s comments towards her team.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2021 | Adelaide International (SF) | Bencic beat Gauff, 7-6(2) 6(4)-7 6-4 |
| 2023 | Washington Open (QF) | Gauff beat Bencic, 6-1 6-2 |
| 2025 | Australian Open (R16) | Gauff beat Bencic, 5-7 6-2 6-1 |
| 2025 | Indian Wells (R16) | Bencic beat Gauff, 3-6 6-3 6-4 |
| 2025 | Madrid Open (R16) | Gauff beat Bencic, 6-4 6-2 |
| 2025 | China Open (R16) | Gauff beat Bencic, 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2 |
It will be interesting to see if there is any form of hangover from this previous drama, as Gauff and Bencic play each other for a place in the Miami Open semifinals on Tuesday, March 24.
The winner of the match between Gauff and Bencic will play the winner of the match between Victoria Mboko and Karolina Muchova.
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