"Good Coco Gauff cleared Jelena Ostapenko's name before anyone accuses her" - Tennis fans amused by American's "cheaters" revelation

Several tennis fans were amused when Coco Gauff defended Jelena Ostapenko during her recent press conference at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The American had high praise for her colleague's ethic during practice sessions.

Gauff is presently competing at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. She commenced her campaign on Monday, July 1. In her post-match press conference, the American was asked whether any of her colleagues had ever cheated during practice.

Without disclosing any names, Coco Gauff hilariously said that she had indeed crossed paths with a few players who were known for their questionable line calls during on-court hits.

"There are some girls - I don’t know if it’s intentional or not," she said, laughing, "A lot of times it’s probably girls who maybe were cheaters in juniors and they just have that habit."

However, Coco Gauff quickly clarified that she was not referring to 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, fearing the tennis community's potential conclusions based on the Latvian's controversial history with umpires and the line-calling system.

"I know people are gonna probably think and say, ‘Oh, that maybe Ostapenko’ because she does that. But she’s actually one of my favorite people to practice with," Coco Gauff revealed.

"She’s just funny. I genuinely think she just sometimes thinks her ball is in but she doesn’t do it in practice. It’s definitely other people," she added.

Tennis fans on social media were delighted to see Coco Gauff backing Jelena Ostapenko, who has often courted controversy for her cold behavior toward her opponents.

"Good she cleared my girl Ostapenko's name before anyone accuses her," one fan said.

"Hahahahahaha she knew what everyone was thinking so she jumped to defend Aljona (Jelena Ostapenko) lol," another fan said.

"I’m glad she said this bc i know people would have immediately called out penko in the comments," yet another fan chimed in.

A few tennis fans were amused by Coco Gauff's "unexpected" bond with the Latvian.

"This is so funny. Love the unexpected Jelena and Coco practice pairing," one fan said.

"Wta should pay ostapenko extra money. mean she is present in everything. She is the wta queen to be honest. I Know it's easy to be mad of her in a match but I think nobody (expect some players) really hate her," another fan opined.

"Translation: Ostapenko is not a cheat. She's just delusional and blind," one individual hilariously concluded.

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Coco Gauff reaches the second round at Wimbledon 2024, Jelena Ostapenko to commence campaign on Tuesday

Coco Gauff (R) pictured with Jelena Ostapenko at the 2023 US Open. (Image Source: Getty)

Coco Gauff, the second seed at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, reached the second round after a resounding 6-1, 6-2 win over Caroline Dolehide on Monday. She is now set to lock horns with Anca Todoni on Wednesday.

At the tournament, the American is in pursuit of her second Grand Slam title and eighth overall. She is also looking for her second trophy this season, having won her first by defending her WTA 250 title at the ASB Classic in Auckland.

Meanwhile, Jelena Ostapenko, too, is chasing her second title at a Major. The Latvian has won eight titles so far in her career, two of which came at the WTA 500 events in Adelaide and Linz earlier this year. She is drawn in World No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s half and will kick off her journey on Tuesday, July 2, against Ajla Tomljanovic.