SUMMARY
- Ahead of the Australian Open, the USTA tried to hype the American players with a special poster.
- Gauff, Pegula and others got into a bit of a disagreement over it.
The American tennis stars are ready for their first challenge of the season at the Australian Open in Melbourne. However, the players got embroiled in a bit of a disagreement with the USTA on social media on the first day itself. Several stars, like Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and others, raised objections to a certain hype post.
The USTA shared artwork of the players ahead of the tournament. It depicted them as caricatures in the Australian wilderness, complete with a kangaroo and a koala in the background. The illustration was in the style of “The Wild Thornberrys,” a cartoon that ran from 1998 to 2004.
Gauff, the top American seed at the tournament, was not fond of the art, to say the least. She took to social media to express her perplexity with the art piece.
The poster featured the eight seeded players from the USA across the men’s and women’s draws. On the men’s side, Taylor Fritz is the top seed in the tournament, followed by Tommy Paul.
Coco was not alone in disapproving of the art. Her doubles partner and second seed, Pegula, also chimed in, claiming, “We are ugly AF.” Tennis fans were not far behind in ridiculing the poster either.
Hahahahhaha we are ugly af
— Jessie Pegula (@JPegula) January 14, 2024
I can’t even tell who everyone is
— ⭕️🎶chanting words 🎶⭕️ (@deardanalou) January 14, 2024
The USTA and Gauff eventually deleted the tweets, but the teenager was not done with it yet. She reposted the art on her Instagram story, calling it the “worst thing I’ve ever seen.” Gauff added that the art style was cool for a cartoon but not a hype post.
Coco Gauff has had an excellent start to her season, as she successfully defended her title in Auckland. She will hope to continue her winning form in Melbourne as well. Moreover, Gauff did not shy away from stating her ambitions for her career.
However, Coco clarified after her 1R win at AO that she wasn’t mad about the images. She said, “I was like, no, I wasn’t mad. We looked awful. And actually, I saw Ben post first on his story. Then I DM’d Ben immediately and I was like, ‘What is this?’ Then Jess [Pegula] started texting me. We were just, like, laughing at each person.”
Coco jokingly said that Ben Shelton and Sebastian Corda had the worst graphics of them. She also clarified that she didn’t ask USTA to delete the posts. rather she asked them about the idea behind Thornberrys-style artwork. But she didn’t get any reply. “They never responded. I got left on read by USTA, which sucks,” said Coco.
Coco Gauff outlines her ambitions
The American star won her maiden Grand Slam at the US Open in 2023. She showed off her mettle against Aryna Sabalenka in the final, as she came from behind to clinch the title. Coco does not want to stop at one, though.
Since tasting victory at Flushing Meadows, Gauff now wants to win many more. After defending her Auckland title, Gauff was asked if she had a number in mind when it came to major titles. She said she would like to reach double-digits.
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“I don’t know if it will happen, but that’s a high goal. Setting my goals high pushes me beyond what I think I can do,” said the US Open champion (via BBC).
Coco Gauff will play her first-round match on the second day against Anna Karolina Schmeidlova. She is one of the favorites to win the title. Only time will tell if Gauff can add another title to her name in Melbourne.