Gauff criticizes USTA’s social media post as ‘foul’
Coco Gauff rips USTA post for making players ‘look so ugly’
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Matt Walsh, Assistant EditorJan 14, 2024, 03:07 AM ET
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- Matt Walsh is a Melbourne-based sports journalist who willingly travels far and wide to watch any sport. Not only has he seen NFL in Dallas, football in London, baseball in Arlington and hockey in Boston, he’s covered F1, AFL, Wimbledon and the Australian Open for a number of media outlets.
MELBOURNE, Australia — 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff described a “hype post” piece of artwork, sent on social media Sunday by the United States Tennis Association, as “foul,” claiming the cartoon drawing makes her and fellow Americans “look so ugly.”
In the post, which has since been deleted, the USTA uploaded artwork wishing the best for the seeded Americans at the Australian Open, which began Sunday, in the style of cartoon television show “The Wild Thornberrys.”
But according to Gauff, the world’s No. 4 player who took to Instagram to voice her displeasure, the post missed the mark completely. She described the depictions as “hideous.”
“Worst thing I’ve ever seen,” Gauff said in an Instagram story Sunday. “Like a caricature artist decided to make [us] all look like hideous looking people.
“The art style is cool for a cartoon show but not for a hype post. Foul.”
After drawing attention to the post on X, Gauff said the depiction made her and her compatriots look “ugly.”
“Y’all I know it is a cartoon show but I think I would prefer to be drawn as a Bratz art style and not this. This is makes us all look so ugly,” she said.
Fellow seeded American Jessica Pegula was not a fan either, replying to Gauff on X that they looked “ugly.”
The post featured Gauff, Pegula, Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Emma Navarro.