For Coco Gauff, the win over Jessica Pegula carried extra significance given her history at Wimbledon. The 1-hour-48-minute victory not only secured her a place in the semifinals but also set up a meeting with Karolina Muchova, who defeated Naomi Osaka, leaving Gauff just one win away from her first Wimbledon final. But even as Gauff’s SW19 run gathered pace, Coco Vandeweghe stirred controversy by undermining the American ahead of their match, only to face a swift backlash online.

At the Tennis Channel desk, the 34-year-old recently gave her take on the upcoming semifinal, saying that Muchova has too many tools and too much variety for Coco Gauff to handle, and that opinion did not go unnoticed.

And to an extent, the argument is not baseless at all. The Czech has looked every bit like a serious threat at SW19, especially given the way her campaign has unfolded in 2026.

After several frustrating years at the Championships, where she had fallen in the first round four times, this time, though, she has underlined why many still view her as the most natural grass-court player. 

And considering how well Naomi Osaka played, outclassing top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round, Muchova’s win over the four-time Grand Slam winner felt like a serious statement.

Still, writing off the former world No. 2 at this stage would be an understatement. Even if the Czech international arrives with momentum, Gauff’s response in this semifinal is far from something that can be dismissed lightly.

Her All-England Club story becomes even more impressive when looked at in full. The American arrived on a four-match losing streak on grass. She battled back against Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. 

Now, with the semifinal scheduled for Gauff, the spotlight is not only on the match itself but also on Vandeweghe’s comments, as her verdict against her fellow American has drawn the wrong kind of attention online.

Fans slam Coco Vandeweghe over her opinion of Coco Gauff

As soon as one fan posted Vandeweghe’s opinion on X, the reactions started pouring in. One fan wrote, “I don’t think she likes Coco,” while another netizen added, “I don’t listen to CoCo Vandeweghe often on the broadcast but she just sounded so ick towards Coco Gauff and her win. You can tell she lowkey hurt the girl done took her nickname and really became a champ 🤣🎾”

A third fan then brought statistics into the conversation, posting, “Their head to head is 6-1. Muchova beat Coco for the first time this year. And Coco has been doing so much better on grass,” while pointing directly to the H2H numbers between the two players.

And to be fair, that argument does carry weight. Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova have faced each other seven times, with the American ace leading the rivalry.

The only time the Czech managed to win came at the Stuttgart Open this year, where Coco was beaten in their lone defeat of the matchup.

Still, the criticism did not stop there. Another fan wrote, “She is a hater. Her career was mediocre at best,” while someone else added, “Muchova has literally only beaten Coco once lol”

Now, with the match scheduled for Centre Court on 9th July, the big question remains: who actually comes out on top?