Not for the first time a reputed tennis name has fallen prey to a fake tweet about Carlos Alcaraz. Coco Gauff’s coach, the seasoned veteran Brad Gilbert, unwittingly shared a fake tweet involving Carlos Alcaraz’s insights on the new tennis-based movie “Challengers”. Gilbert has trained the actors in the movie hence his eagerness to share what he thought were Alcaraz’s words. However, this led to fans online responding with playful jabs, with some urging Gauff to intervene and others picturing the coach’s bewildered reaction.

Carlos Alcaraz sat down with the Tennis Channel following his 2nd round victory at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open. @limuzinaxd snagged a screenshot of Carlos Alcaraz during the interview and cleverly paired it with entirely fabricated quotes praising the movie.

“I watched the movie yesterday, and I liked it very much. It was very well made. What is funny is that I have a similar romantic situation with one of the main guys, but I am not going to say which players. I want to keep it a secret,” read their tweet regarding Alcaraz. Gilbert reposted that tweet on his X handle. Not only that, he also tagged the official page of the movie in his post. And this added a new twist to the story.

Little did he know, this would spark a hilarious online firestorm that would leave the seasoned pro red-faced. From lighthearted jibes to outright denial that such a stunt could fool an experienced coach, tennis fans said it all.

One fan could not help but point out how Gilbert fell into the trap and commented, “they got my boy.” The X handle that tweeted the fake Alcaraz quote is known for such antics and people often fall for them. Last year in May, after Alcaraz won the Madrid Open semi-final, a post was circulated on X where he was quoted as saying, “I want to dedicate this day to Emma Raducanu who had surgery today. I wish her a very very speedy recovery, she doesn’t deserve any of this. I wish she comes back fast on court and maybe play some mixed doubles.”

Raducanu had undergone ankle surgery and replied to the tweet with, “@carlosalcaraz ‘yours’ :)”, not realizing initially that the tweet was falsely attributing quotes to Alcaraz.

Another fan wanted Coco Gauff to be the savior of his coach and make him understand that the tweet was fake. “Cocoooo come collect ur coach”, urged the user to Gauff. Gilbert has been training the likes of Hollywood star Zendaya for her role in the movie and also has a cameo in the film.

He appears on screen as Art Donaldson’s Coach Karl. This is something Gauff highlighted in her Instagram story and live review. She said, “The German dude helping Art with his serve, that’s my coach. Future Oscar nominee Brad Gilbert.” She also joked that he left her for Hollywood after he couldn’t attend certain tournaments recently.

Another user urged Gilbert to follow in Raducanu’s footsteps and delete the tweet. They wrote, “You can still delete this Brad.” The incident involving Raducanu showed how easy it was to fall prey to such posts. After the British tennis star realized that the tweet doing rounds about Alcaraz wishing her speedy recovery was fake, she quickly took it down to save herself from further embarrassment.

Since Brad is 62 years in age, one fan pointed out the generation gap as the reason behind such confusion in differentiating between what’s real and what’s fake. “BG is a certified boomer”, claimed the user.

A fan playfully thanked Brad for giving the prankster “free advertising” by spreading their fabricated content further. “Thanks Brad for the free advertising!” Well, the inadvertent advertising by Gilbert aside, it also may have brought the attention of fans to the Challengers and the coach’s significant role in it.

He was hired as a tennis consultant for the movie and over three months of training in Boston, he put the actors through their paces to prepare for their roles.

Meanwhile, one will be surprised to know that, both Brad and Gauff have been victims of online misinformation. While Brad retweeted a fake quote, Coco’s outfit sparked a fake tweet claiming it was inspired by Serena Williams.

Coco Gauff’s sunshine look for the 2024 Australian Open sparked a playful online moment

The yellow outfit, featuring both a top and a skirt, brought to mind a similar yellow ensemble worn by Serena Williams at the 2016 Australian Open. A quick-witted fan couldn’t resist the opportunity for some fun. They posted a picture of Gauff’s outfit alongside a fabricated quote, making it seem like Gauff herself was paying homage to Williams. The lighthearted quote mentioned channeling her “inner Serena” and even referenced the crop top.

Gauff, fooled at first, later found the fake quote about her outfit hilarious. She even admired fans drawing a connection to her idol, Serena Williams. “Yeah, if you want to make it a homage to her [Serena Williams], that’s really cool. That wasn’t the thought process behind it…but it was funny how that tweet kind of circulated”, Gauff spoke of the tweet.

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These two incidents show how easily things can get misconstrued online, but also in a lighthearted way. Both situations became funny stories within the tennis community.