Gauff clarifies comments on American tennis fans

Coco Gauff dropped a post on social media just before she started her United Cup singles match on Monday,hoping to add context to her recent comments about American tennis fans. The issue was clearly a distraction and the match didn’t go well for the Number 4-ranked Guaff,who lost the first five games and struggled in a 6-1,6-7 (3),6-0 loss to No. 42 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in Perth. It gave Spain a 1-0 lead over the defending champion US Team in the Group A contest ahead of the men’s singles and mixed doubles.

“Im going to clarify because people are dragging this out of context,” Gauff said in pre-match post,referring to the “worst” comments she made earlier at the tournament comparing support for players from smaller countries with the kind of support American players receive on foreign soil. Gauff said she wasn’t expecting fans to travel to tournaments specifically to support their compatriots,but instead was talking broadly about the audible and visible support at events — other than the US Open — that attracted American tennis fans.