"Being a person of color, it's a double standard" - Coco Gauff on Western media's contrasting coverage of Middle East issues & controversies at home

Coco Gauff recently agreed with the suggestion that Western media tends to scrutinize developments in the Middle East while ignoring issues in the West itself. According to Gauff, this is a "double standard".

The 2023 US Open champion is currently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, vying for a place in the semifinals of the year-end WTA Finals. The Middle Eastern country has gone to great lengths to open its doors to tennis. However, its position as the host of the WTA Finals from this year to 2026 has not gone down well with several prominent names in the women's game.

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, for instance, wrote a letter at the beginning of the year, urging the WTA to not move the prestigious year-end event to Saudi Arabia. The legendary yesteryear rivals brought up questions related to the Middle Eastern nation's human and women's rights records, suggesting that it wouldn't be a good look for the WTA if it were to choose it as the host.

A deal ultimately did go through, and Coco Gauff is one of the big names contesting for the year-end title. Recently, in an interview with The National, the World No. 3 was asked about her thoughts on the Western media's coverage of issues prevalent in the Middle East, and its allegedly contrasting coverage of controversies plaguing Western nations. Gauff responded by saying:

"Being a person of colour, living especially where I live, it's definitely a double standard. Like I feel it, and not even being from here, but just even as a tennis player in this space, I feel like people are over critical of me because of that. I don't like to always deep dive into it, because then it opens a lot of doors. But yes, I do feel that. And yes, I do know, being from especially America, like we’re not saints either."

The 2023 US Open champion proceeded to elaborate on her own questions about, and understanding of, coming to Saudi Arabia for the WTA Finals.

"So I do think that in general, it is a very over-critical situation. And for me, I have no problem with criticism, but you have to be able to see your own faults. That's why I think for me, when I made the decision to come here [to Saudi Arabia], I wanted to see how it is for myself. And when you look at history, and you look at the changes that have been made, there's always going to be backlash and opposition to it."

Earlier this year, Gauff raised her voice against events in the Gaza Strip that have been ongoing since October 2023.

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"There's one side that's getting killed at more drastically faster rates" - Coco Gauff on violence in Gaza

Coco Gauff (Source: Getty)

The May 2024 issue of Time featured an in-depth interview with Coco Gauff, where she touched on a variety of subjects. The Israel-Hamas war was one of them. Over 43,000 Palestinians and 1,700 Israelis have reportedly died so far as a result of the conflict, and grim developments continue to be reported from the Gaza Strip regularly. Gauff condemned the violence and the death of innocent people.

Gauff said,

"I don’t really support the mass violence going on to innocent people on both ends of the spectrum. And there’s one side that’s getting killed at more drastically faster rates than the other side."

Gauff's take left fans divided at the time. While some appreciated her opinion, others criticized it.

Currently, Coco Gauff is playing at the 2024 WTA Finals. She registered a comfortable win over compatriot Jessica Pegula in the opening match of her campaign. Up next for the 2023 US Open champion is former World No. 1 and five-time Major winner Iga Swiatek.