Handling the pressure of being a Grand Slam Champion and being one of the top players in the world at just 22, one would think that’s enough on Coco Gauff’s plate. Unfortunately, for the World No. 5, that’s not all, as she also has to tackle all the hate she gets from trolls in case of a bad performance or is subjected to a whole host of racist abuse, which she has been subjected to since her China Open match against Xinran Sun.
While Gauff herself had admitted that the psychological toll that the abuse took on her is quite significant, as the American player lost her next match and had to withdraw from the subsequent event in Wuhan. While the two-time Major champion has received support from former players, the highest form of support that Gauff received was a recent statement that was published by the United Nations Human Rights Office.
“Racist messages such as those targeting #tennis player @CocoGauff online are appalling and illustrate that Black female athletes are specifically targeted for vitriol and racial abuse,” said the official account of the UN Human Rights on X. “There is no place in sport for racial or sexist slurs and abuse. Players, coaches, and sports bodies need to stand up for those facing such attacks and fans need to push back against those who sully sport with racism and sexism.”
The United Nations Human Rights has strict provisions in place to assess the impact of racism in the world of sports and devise protective measures against it. The organization has a designated resolution passed for achieving this target, under the banner of “A World of Sport Free from Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance”.
The UNHRC also practices hiring independent contractors, such as the Special Rapporteur, to publish comprehensive reports on existing discriminatory biases in sports infrastructure worldwide. A statement from them showing support for Gauff underlines the severity of the incident.
Former champions like Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert led the charge of defending Gauff on social media, with Evert firmly stating that Gauff’s on-court actions were within the rulebook. Former USTA president Katrina Adams came in support of Gauff as well, with Adams pointing out the broader gambling habits as the cause for such vicious attacks on players.
“And in my opinion, it’s really a lot of the people who are gambling, you know, they’re betting on tennis or betting on sports,” said Adams on the CBS Morning show. “And, you know, if they’re losing, um, they really attack these athletes. And for someone like Coco, she doesn’t deserve that. No athlete deserves to be attacked, but to really form some form of hate of an individual because of the color of their skin or the way they look or the way they walk or something like that. There’s no place for that in sport. There’s really no place for that in humanity.”
It’s not only Adams who has pointed out the efforts and hardships elite players must endure to succeed. ATP Pro, Flavio Cobolli’s father and coach, Stefano Cobolli, highlighted the same point when he took a stand against an online troll who abused the Italian on social media. However, as Adams pointed out, gambling does remain one of the root causes for players getting abused, something that has happened to Gauff recently as well.
Gambling Remains One of the Top Causes for Player Abuse in Tennis
While the WTA Threat Matrix has made life easier for players to some extent, it has also revealed some disturbing trends. Identifying the direct correlation between gambling losses and player-targeted abuse, the WTA report for 2025 showed 42 percent of all verified abuse came from gamblers, with almost 59 percent of serious abuse coming from disgruntled bettors who lose their money.
Gauff herself has been a victim of this. The American casually hinted that she had already received hate messages just a few hours after she had lost the Wimbledon semifinal to Karolina Muchova this year. The American attempted to take the issue in a light-hearted manner, even suggesting tagging the same abusive people after her next win. However, for the likes of Panna Udavardy, the abuse took the form of serious death threats and a demand to lose her next match.
With tennis having a lot of smaller elements in a single match, such as a particular game score or set score, or even the number of aces or double faults, it becomes a golden opportunity for bettors to put money in live situations. Losing money in real time while the match is being played adds to the bettor’s frustration, which often takes the form of abuse towards the players.