Coco Gauff made an honest confession about dealing with the online trolls and criticism in the aftermath of her semifinal defeat at Wimbledon on Thursday. While pursuing her maiden Grand Slam title in London, the World No. 7 American squared off against in-form Karolina Muchova at Centre Court.
In a nerve-jangling encounter, the Czech tennis player kept her nerves in check in the crucial moment and crushed Gauff’s dreams with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-7(10) win. Gauff put up a resilient fight in the climax as she crawled back from a 3-6 deficit in the tiebreak but missed out on the match point.
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After the defeat, the 22-year-old was asked if she would continue to follow the tournament despite her exit. While she remained unsure about watching Saturday’s final, Gauff said she would be active on social media. However, she was quick to admit that even before logging into her social media accounts, she would have already received hate messages.
“That’s a good question. Sometimes I watch and sometimes I don’t watch. I don’t know. We’ll see. When I get home, if I’m up, I might have it on. I am one that, like, stings a little bit, especially so close, I don’t want to watch,” Coco Gauff said while speaking to the media.
“Also, at the same time, I am a fan of tennis. The girls who are left, I think it’s going to be a great match. Obviously Karolina is great. Whoever she plays in the final is going to be great. Maybe I’ll watch; maybe I won’t. I’ll be online. Probably already got some hate comments and stuff. It’s okay. Just makes you stronger,” she added.
At the beginning of last year, the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] and International Tennis Federation [ITF] published a report outlining the scale of abuse directed at players on social media. According to the report, “angry gamblers sent 40% of all detected abuse across the year.” The trend has continued in 2026 as Gauff singled out the bettors who get “mad” about her defeat.
“Betters who lose who are mad and stuff. It’s the usual. It sucks, but it’s like, whatever. I’ll come on the winning end next time and I’ll be sure to tag ’em,” Gauff concluded with a smile.
While Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon campaign ended on a bitter note, Muchova will square off against Linda Noskova in Saturday’s final.
Here’s how Karolina Muchova ousted Coco Gauff in a gripping semifinal thriller
Just like her last four games at the All England Club, Coco Gauff had to battle till the third set to find a result. The 22-year-old was struggling to find her footing and lost the opening set by 2-6 in a whisker. In the second set, Gauff flipped a switch and left Muchova jolted by carving an emphatic 6-2 win.
The decisive set was nothing short of a dramatic affair as Coco Gauff saved two break points down 2-1. The third set went to a tie-break, and the two-time Grand Slam champion found herself trailing 3-6 and needed an immediate response. She decided to go down fighting and won six of the next eight points to stand on the cusp of qualifying for her first SW19 final.
With the match point in her grasp, Coco Gauff tried to execute a forehand drop shot but squandered her chance and gave Muchova a lifeline. The Czech tennis star seized the opportunity to set up the final against Linda Noskova.
Edited by Pritha Ghosh