Gauff Asks for Calm After Criticism of Sabalenka: “I Don’t Want to Fuel the Hate”

Gauff and Sabalenka: The Rivalry on the Court and the Friendship Off It

WIMBLEDON, England – The relationship between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka seems to have strengthened rapidly after this month’s French Open final. Now, as Wimbledon is about to begin, Gauff hopes everyone can forget Sabalenka’s comments after her loss at Roland-Garros. A day after dancing together on the Wimbledon center court in a TikTok video, the two tennis players faced more questions about Sabalenka’s statements immediately after the final, where she claimed her defeat was due more to her own mistakes than Gauff’s performance. Sabalenka later apologized to Gauff, calling her comments “unprofessional”, but not before facing a negative reaction from fans and experts.

Gauff is trying to put an end to the criticisms.

“I am not the person who will feed the hate in the world,” said Gauff, who will begin her Wimbledon campaign against Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday. “I think people were taking it too far… They were just pointing and saying a lot of things that I felt weren’t nice. I didn’t want to feed that anymore.”

Coco Gauff

Sabalenka, who will face Carson Branstine on Monday on Court No. 1, said she hopes the TikTok video will prove that everything is okay between the two.

“We are fine, we are friends,” said the three-time Grand Slam winner. “I hope the American media will be kind to me at this moment.”

Aryna Sabalenka

Sabalenka reiterated that she never intended to offend Gauff.

“I was completely upset with myself, and the emotions took over,” she said. “I just completely lost it.”

Aryna Sabalenka

Gauff acknowledged that she was initially tempted to respond publicly to Sabalenka, who said that the American “won the match not because she played incredibly, but because I made all those mistakes on… easy balls”. But after Sabalenka apologized, Gauff was quick to bury any grudge.

“I preach love, I preach light,” Gauff said. “I just want us to be in harmony, live happily, hakuna matata, and be happy here.”

Coco Gauff

Other players were also happy to see the two best players in the world getting along again.

“I’m glad to see they’ve turned the page,” said Frances Tiafoe, who is number 12 in the men’s Wimbledon draw. “That’s the most important thing, because they are the best players in the world. So those relationships are necessary.”

Frances Tiafoe

Then, the American added with a smile: “But it wouldn’t be bad if they also went back and forth. It would be great if they didn’t like each other.”