@cocogauff
Reply to @levipixton No hate to the person who wrote the comment. But real athletes understand what I’m saying. If you’re good you’re good period.
At 15, Coco Gauff became the youngest American woman to win a tour singles title since 1991. This took place a few months after she made her Wimbledon debut last summer and shocked the nation by coming out victorious over Venus Williams in the first round. Now 16, Gauff continues to be the prodigy she’s made out to be — and on TikTok she wants to make clear that when it comes to her ability, she’s skilled because she’s a good athlete, period.
Gauff replied to a comment talking about the “unmeasurable” skill gap between pro tennis on the “girls'” side versus the “boys'” side. She first clarifies that even though she is a girl, she plays women’s pro tennis. “I have no problem with people saying they’re better than me because they think their skill level is better than me . . . then we can decide that when we actually go and compete,” she continued in the video above. “But if you think that you’re better than me because of the sole fact that you’re a boy and I’m a girl, that doesn’t make any sense.”
Gauff gave the example of Roger Federer, who can beat her at tennis due to his skill — he’s one of the greatest players of all time and has more experience. “His skill level and his actual game is way better than mine,” Gauff said. “But you saying you can beat me solely because of the fact that I’m a girl is stupid.”
Moral of the story? If you’re more skilled than Gauff, she respects that. Her gender does not make her any less capable as an athlete — and that’s that.