The two tennis stars danced together at Wimbledon and shared videos on social media just in case anyone ever wondered whether Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka had any lingering animosity after their French Open final.
The two tennis players had more to say about the aftermath of Sabalenka’s comments right after the final, when she claimed that her loss had more to do with her own mistakes than Gauff’s performance, on Saturday after dancing together on the , Centre Court.
The Belarusian later admitted that her remarks were “unprofessional,” but not before receiving a lot of negative feedback from fans and media, especially in the United States.
Below a clip of the duo performing their moves on the Centre Court grass to the strains of C+C Music Factory’s 1990 hit Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now), Sabalenka wrote on her Instagram feed that “TikTok dances always had a way of bringing people together.”
Gauff, a frequent user of TikTok, recorded a video of the pair clapping along to a track and saying, “OK, guys, we’re back.” How did you feel about us? We missed you, “
The olive branch was accepted and extended! You guys should be as good as we are, she wrote.
Pretty well-known in the #Wimbledon and #CocoGauff memes. twitter.com/biHPvsSaBR
“Hakuna Matata, enjoy yourself.”
Gauff now hopes everyone else can forget what the top-ranked Sabalenka said as Wimbledon draws near to a close.
Gauff, who begins her Wimbledon match against Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday, said, “I’m not the person who will fuel hate in the world.” “I believe people were going too far,” he said, “It was just really targeting and saying a lot of things that I thought were offensive.” That wasn’t going to be fuelled further by me.
On Monday, Sabalenka, who faces Carson Branstine in court number one, said she hopes the TikTok video shows that everything is well with the two.
The three-time major winner said, “We are good, we are friends.” “I hope the US media can be gentle with me at this moment.”
Sabalenka once more stated that she had no intention of offending Gauff.
She said, “I was just completely devastated by myself, and emotions overcame me.” “I just completely lost it,” he said.
Gauff did acknowledge that she was initially drawn to criticize Sabalenka, who claimed that the American “won the match not because she played incredible, but just because I made all of those mistakes from… easy balls.”
Gauff added that she was surprised that Sabalenka reached out to apologize a little later. The American was quick to shed any animosity once that occurred, though.
Gauff said, “I preach light and love.” No worries “in Swahili], just want us to be Kumbaya, live happily, Hakuna Matata,” and be content here.
The top two women’s players were appreciative of each other’s rekindling of friendship, according to other players.
Frances Tiafoe, who is seeded 12th in the Wimbledon men’s bracket, is pleased to see that they have changed their mind. The biggest reason is that they are the world’s top players, he said. You kind of need those relationships, then.
The American then laughed as he said, “But it wouldn’t be that bad if they were also back-and-forth.” If they kind of didn’t like each other, that kind of would be cool.
Head-to-head encounter between Gauff and Sabalenka
She lost to Gauff in Paris after losing to the American in the US Open final in 2023, and she now leads 6-5 in the standings.
When questioned about whether she would relish the chance to make amends when she defeated Gauff in the Wimbledon final, she seemed unsure.
“I don’t know, in this case, if I make it to the finals, maybe I don’t want to see Coco.” However, I’m happy because I want to get the revenge if she’s going to be there.”
Novak Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, and Sabalenka, who she claimed had a long chat with after hitting with the Serb on the grass, joined her for the final minute of her media address.
Novak calls herself “the best.” I had a chance to hit with him first. You can talk to him then. She remarked, “He will give you honest advice.” It’s amazing to hear such a legend’s opinion. We just talked about some things that are making me a little trouble [with]. He gave me some great advice, and I’m so grateful.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply