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Coco Gauff Slams Haters on Social Media after WTA Finals

Coco Gauff sent a message to her detractors on social media after winning the WTA Finals.

Pat Benson

Coco Gauff responded to her detractors on social media after winning the 2024 WTA Finals.
Coco Gauff responded to her detractors on social media after winning the 2024 WTA Finals. / Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Coco Gauff did not win a Grand Slam this season, but she might have learned more lessons in defeat. After an up-and-down season, Gauff went back to the drawing board and changed coaches after the US Open.

From there, Gauff enjoyed immediate improvement and began sprinting through the finish line of the marathon season while other players faltered.

The 20-year-old American superstar entered the WTA Finals as the World No. 3. She defeated the top two players, one-seed Aryna Sabalenka and two-seed Iga Swiatek, before eventually knocking off Qinwen Zheng, in the finals to win the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Just as critics were wrong to underestimate Gauff's resolve on the tennis court, they made the mistake of forgetting that the Gen-Z athlete is surgical with her social media posts.

After defeating Zheng in the WTA Finals, Gauff did everything right. She thanked everyone possible and handled the moment with class. But Gauff did have to fire off a few posts on X (formerly Twitter) to remind the haters that she is the real deal.

At 9:16 p.m. EST on Saturday night, Gauff posted, "lol safe to say I beat the bad season allegations." Seven minutes later Gauff posted two pictured of herself and the trophy with the following message.

"Also, I know tend to focus on 'doubters/haters' but this one is really for all of my supporters! Ya’ll held it down for me win or lose! I thank you for that. I see you and I appreciate you. And I know some of you are a little bit petty like me so it does feel nice to silence them for a bit."

At 9:16 p.m. EST, Gauff shared a picture of herself celebrating on the court next to a screenshot of a Tyler, The Creator song lyrics mentioning her. She wrote, "Tyler tried to tell ya’ll."

Additionally, "In all seriousness, I’m so grateful for all the support the last few weeks. Getting to win the last tournament of the season and it also being my second biggest title of my career so far is insane. Wow WTA FINALS CHAMPION.

All glory to God truthfully. I‘m eternally grateful for the life I get to live and to have moments like this makes all of the hours/sacrifice I put into this worth it. time to rest for a little bit but then it’s back to grind for the year’s szn (sic)."

Gauff is currently the World No. 3 with a record of 48-15 with two singles titles. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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