Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Social media is filled with sports fans who routinely fire off unsolicited advice targeted at the players and teams they root for. That includes one person who chimed in on Coco Gauff’s playing strategy, which led to her making a change she says played a role in a victory at the Miami Open.
There is plenty of potential for social media to take a negative toll on the average person, and that’s certainly the case when you’re a public figure who inevitably finds themselves at the center of plenty of discussions online.
It’s very hard to envy the athletes who have to endure that reality thanks to the far too many sports fans who have a crippiling inability to act normal on the internet.
You usually only have to take a quick scroll through the comments and mentions of a high-profile player to encounter trolls taking advantage of the anonymity social media tends to provide, and many notable names in the sports realm have tales about receiving unhinged threats from people who’ve gotten far too emotionally and financially invested in a game.
That’s not to say the experiences on those platforms are universally terrible, and there are plenty of cool stories about athletes using them to connect with fans who’ve taken advantage of the unparalleled access they provide.
That includes one Coco Gauff relayed following a win at a tournament, which she said could be partially credited to a tweet she came across.
Coco Gauff said she took the advice of a fan who tweeted about her attacking the net more while securing a victory at the Miami Open
Gauff headed into this year’s Miami Open sitting in the fourth spot in the WTA’s singles rankings and in search of her first tournament win since her victory over Jessica Pegula in the Wuhan Open last October.
The 22-year-old American phenom opened things up with a win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto, followed it up with a defeat of Alycia Parks, and punched her ticket to the quarterfinal by vanquishing Sorana Cirstea on Monday.
She reflected on the strategy she harnessed against Cirstea in the wake of her win and revealed social media had played a role, saying, “Honestly, I saw a tweet that said I should go to the net more. I was like, ‘Yeah, you’re right. I win a lot of net points.'”
The tweet in question came from an X/Twitter account with the handle @slice_szn, which has less than 500 followers as of this writing. The person behind it took credit for the advice while highlighting the post, which was sent out after Gauff fell to Elina Svitolina in the semifinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February.
She’s talking about me yall, I’m cocos new coach 🔥 https://t.co/3I5IQIBMfG pic.twitter.com/idSXWa8g6n
— slice and dice (@slice_szn) March 24, 2026
Gauff will face off against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, and she might want to be prepared for more attacks on the net.