Coco Gauff has clarified the comments she made about American tennis fans after receiving criticism.
Gauff, who is no longer the American number one, was asked about American tennis fans when competing at the United Cup in Perth.
When Gauff was asked about American tennis fans in Australia, she actually claimed they were the ‘worst’ at supporting overseas.
“I feel like we’re definitely in the tennis department the worst when it comes to that,” Gauff said in her pre-tournament press conference. “I’ve always said I wish our country — and other places — would show up throughout the world the way we see maybe smaller countries support.”
“But I also think it’s because our country is good in so many sports, so it’s just hard,” the 21-year-old added. “I do think there are more Americans that come out in Melbourne than necessarily here, but I would like to see some more Americans if you make it to Sydney — more than there were last year.”
Gauff received a lot of backlash for these comments, and the two-time Grand Slam champion has now hit back.
Coco Gauff hits back for criticism after comments about American tennis fans
There has been a big reaction to Gauff’s comments about American tennis fans, so much so that she felt the need to clarify her remarks in a social media post.
In this post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Gauff claimed that people were ‘dragging this out of context’ and explained that she just felt that smaller countries were more supportive of their players.
Gauff wrote, “Lol I‘m going to clarify because people are dragging this out of context. I‘m not expecting people to travel to tournaments to watch us play.
“But there are many tournaments that we have in America and abroad where Americans are already attending regardless of who is playing (excluding us open) where people come and don’t really cheer for their countrymen player. Whereas those from smaller countries come with their colors and flags and it is clear on who they are supporting.
“I was just speaking from my perspective. Trust me I understand the financial aspect of things and know tennis is not accessible for everyone, it was more of a comment for those who are already attending and how I wish they were as passionate as those from other countries more specifically team events.
“People don’t owe me anything I was just honestly answering a question I was asked and it was simply an observation I noticed about other countries vs mine that is all. Nevertheless I am grateful for any support no matter how big or small it is.”
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While Gauff made a valid point about the lack of American support in tennis compared to other countries being down to the importance of other sports in her country, there may also be another reason.
The USA have so many players ranked in the top 100 for American fans to cheer for, whereas smaller countries tend to have just a select few.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
Led by Ben Shelton and Amanda Anisimova, the USA have a combined 30 players in the top 100 of the singles world rankings on both the ATP and WTA Tours.
This is just two less than the combined number of top 100 players that the three other Grand Slam nations have.
| American players in the top 100 | ATP | WTA |
| 1 | Ben Shelton (No.8) | Amanda Anisimova (No.3) |
| 2 | Taylor Fritz (No.9) | Coco Gauff (No.4) |
| 3 | Tommy Paul (No.20) | Jessica Pegula (No.6) |
| 4 | Learner Tien (No.26) | Madison Keys (No.7) |
| 5 | Frances Tiafoe (No.30) | Emma Navarro (No.15) |
| 6 | Brandon Nakashima (No.33) | Sofia Kenin (No.28) |
| 7 | Alex Michelsen (No.37) | McCartney Kessler (No.31) |
| 8 | Sebastian Korda (No.46) | Iva Jovic (No.35) |
| 9 | Jenson Brooksby (No.49) | Ann Li (No.37) |
| 10 | Aleksandar Kovacevic (No.58) | Ashlyn Krueger (No.49) |
| 11 | Reilly Opelka (No.60) | Danielle Collins (No.62) |
| 12 | Marcos Giron (No.64) | Peyton Stearns (No.64) |
| 13 | Ethan Quinn (No.76) | Hailey Baptiste (No.65) |
| 14 | Emilia Nava (No.88) | Caty McNally (No.83) |
| 15 | Eliot Spizzirri (No.89) | Katie Volynets (No.63) |
It will be interesting to see whether the backlash Gauff has received for these comments continues to impact her performances.
Gauff suffered a heavy defeat to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro after making this social media post and has now dropped down to world number four.
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