Coco Gauff forced to defend criticism of American fans after intense backlash as Taylor Fritz wades in

Coco Gauff’s 2026 season has started in dramatic fashion.

The 21-year-old, who is in Perth for the United Cup, was forced to take to social media to add context to recent viral remarks about American tennis fans.

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Last week, Gauff gave a scathing assessment of her fellow compatriots’ lacklustre support for tournaments held outside the country.

She claimed they are the “worst” when it comes to more animated support and that players from other countries receive much better backing compared to American tennis players.

“I’ll be honest, no (laughs).” last year’s French Open winner said when question about the support.

“I feel like we’re definitely, in the tennis department, the worst when it comes to that [support],

“I’ve always said I wish our country in other places would show up throughout the world as we see maybe smaller countries support.

“But I also think it’s just because our country is good at so many sports, it’s just hard. But, yeah, I definitely think there are more Americans that come out more in Melbourne than necessarily here [Perth].

“I would definitely like to see more Americans, if we make it to Sydney, in Sydney, than there were last year.”

Unsurprisingly, these comments did not go down well, and Gauff was forced to clarify her remarks on X.

“Lol, I ‘m going to clarify because people are dragging this out of context,” Gauff began in a lengthy post.

“I‘m not expecting people to travel to tournaments to watch us play. But there are many tournaments that we have in America and abroad where Americans are already attending, regardless of who is playing (excluding us open) where people come and don’t really cheer for their countryman player.

“Whereas those from smaller countries come with their colors and flags and it is clear on who they are supporting. I was just speaking from my perspective.

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“Trust me I understand the financial aspect of things and know tennis is not accessible for everyone, it was more of a comment for those who are already attending and how I wish they were as passionate as those from other countries more specifically, team events.

“People don’t owe me anything I was just honestly answering a question I was asked and it was simply an observation I noticed about other countries vs mine that is all.

“Nevertheless, I am grateful for any support no matter how big or small it is.

Gauff’s compatriot and World No.9, Taylor Fritz, defended her on social media.

“People always wanna take things in the worst possible way,” Fritz wrote on X. “I was there sitting next to her, and I know EXACTLY what Coco meant and was trying to say, and she’s right.

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“There is absolutely no disrespect meant to the US fans at all in this statement. If we were to play Czech or Poland here at United Cup there will be a massive group of fans going crazy for them.

“We love the Americans that come out and support, some other countries abroad just have a really insane sports culture, but we appreciate every single American abroad that comes to watch.”

Gauff’s post on X came after she suffered an upset three-set loss to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, which gave Spain a temporary 1-0 lead in their United Cup tie with Team USA.

After the match, Bouzas Maneiro thanked the crowd for their support.

“Thank you for the atmosphere. It was amazing,” she said in an on-court TV interview.

“I just felt the support. I saw flags, Spain, Spanish flags there. Thank you so much.”

Luckily for Gauff, Fritz won his following singles match in three sets to force a mixed doubles decider.

Gauff and Christian Harrison won that, meaning Team USA qualified for the United Cup’s quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory over Spain.

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