Coco Gauff says US crowds ‘the worst’ at supporting players overseas
Coco Gauff believes the United States is the worst country at having fans travel to watch tennis overseas ahead of the United Cup and Australian Open.
The US enter as the reigning champion of the tournament but that success appears to have not resonate much with a home crowd as Gauff made the surprise confession that she believes US fans are the “worst.”
“I’ll be honest, no,” she said when asked if she felt the team would have a strong support in Sydney. “I feel like we’re definitely, in the tennis department, the worst when it comes to that. So 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 of our country is good in so many sports, so it’s just hard. Yeah, I definitely think there are Americans that come out more in Melbourne than necessarily here, but I would like to see some more Americans, if we make it to Sydney, in Sydney than there were last year.”
Gauff was then asked if having few fans in attendance made them the underdogs but disagreed with that assessment and pointed to them being the top ranked team for the tournament.
“No, because we’re the No. 1 seed, so there’s no underdog in that standpoint,” the 21-year-old said. “Yeah, we played Poland last year, and the stadium was still pretty rowdy.
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“I think maybe necessarily if they’re not Americans, I do think we get a lot of support from people who are just fans of us that may not be from U.S.
“But, yeah, I would like to see a little bit more red, white, and blue in the stands in these team competitions.”
But despite the perceived lack of support in the stands, the US has consistently been a strong contender in this tournament, winning it two of the three editions so far.
Taylor Fritz, who was alongside Gauff in the press conference, suggested the country was well suited for team events given the high average level of ability.
“I think it plays to the strengths of our country,” the highest ranked American male said. “I think we have such amazing women’s players.
“Coco’s first year was just last year, and obviously we won it beforehand, as well. The first year we had it with the top two men and top two women, I think that favors our country even more in that kind of format.
“You know, it’s great to just feel like we have such a strong team all throughout. For me personally, I’ve always felt like I play a lot better in the team competitions.”
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