Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, and WTA star Danielle Collins both chimed in on two controversial issues from the recently concluded Australian Open. After losing to Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, Gauff was recorded smashing her racket at what she thought would be a private space. In the press conference, she admitted she wanted to do it in a private space because she didn’t want to show those emotions to kids and his team at the arena.
However, the footage went viral on the internet and it became a controversial moment, raising concerns of privacy among several tennis stars. Collins, who herself admitted that she has been in such a state as Gauff was, and that she finds nothing wrong with how she expressed her frustration on the racket. She admits tennis players don’t get to enjoy privacy, unlike other sports.
“I think it’s a huge privacy issue,” Collins said on Tennis Channel. “Okay, it’s a huge privacy issue. I mean, first of all, we’ve got to have some area we can go to after a match and be able to kind of go through our thoughts, go through our different emotions, and not feel like we’re being watched every second of the day.
“I don’t see any other sports right now having the access that tennis has to the behind-the-scenes like we have, and I just think it’s so unfair to the players not being able to step off the court and have their own time and their own privacy.”
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, pointed to an even worse annoying issue he noted during press conferences at the Australian Open.
Coco Gauff’s Former Coach Explodes Over Constant Annoying ICE Questions At Australian Open
While Brad Gilbert was also unhappy about how Coco Gauff was captured smashing her racket, he said the troubling ICE and Donald Trump questions asked to American players whenever they appeared in front of the media were even worse.
According to Gilbert, the media people asking such questions should immediately be removed from attending the press conferences.
“I’m way more annoyed with, I mean, it’s a straight red card for the tournament,” Gilbert said. “Obviously what we saw with Coco was bad, but this was way worse. How is somebody allowed in the press room with an accreditation, literally asking each American player, especially after they’ve lost, ICE questions and Donald Trump questions?
“I’m sorry, this is a tennis tournament. Take that person’s pass away. That’s much worse to me than showing a player breaking a racket. And even if they do show it, you’d like to think there’s at least a little grace period, ask the player if that’s okay.”
After losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff will take time to regroup before she starts preparing for the clay tournaments.
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