"Now will Iga Swiatek fanatics who hate Coco Gauff leave her alone?" - Fans react to American firmly defending colleague in doping row

Coco Gauff's staunch defense of Iga Swiatek in the ongoing doping controversy has drawn reactions from fans on social media, with many commending the American for her classy response.

Swiatek is in the middle of one of the biggest doping controversies the tennis world has seen in a while. At the end of the last year, it came out that she had tested positive for a contamination, and was briefly suspended from the WTA Tour. Now, however, she is free to play and will join Gauff and the rest of the competition at the 2025 Australian Open.

At her pre-tournament press conference, Gauff was asked about her thoughts on Swiatek's doping case, to which she responded with a firm statement.

"I don't know her personally well, but just from the interactions that we've had, I definitely don't think anything she did was intentional," Gauff said.

The American's positive words delighted fans, who appreciated her for her candor and vote of confidence. At the same time, many felt the statement would prove to the Iga Swiatek fans who 'hated' Gauff to see the truth that the players themselves were very friendly with each other despite their rivalry on the court.

"Where are those Iga fans who were saying trash on coco last week. Coco is very mature and respectful not your sore losers," one fan said.

"Great response from Coco. Now will the Iga fanatics who hate Coco leave her alone?" another wrote.

"It's the fans who create drama between Iga and Coco. Meanwhile, she takes her side and says really nice things about Iga. Shows that off the tennis court, many of these players have compassion for each other," one commented.

A few fans, as expected, did find Coco Gauff's comments very diplomatic and "PR-safe," but the majority of the sentiments were in favor of the World No. 3.

"Ah, the diplomatic tightrope walk. Coco’s basically saying, “I don’t know her well enough to judge, but let’s not light the torches just yet.” Classic PR-safe response. Though let’s be honest, the subtext here is, I’m winning, and that’s all that really matters," one fan said.

"Can we just please stop asking players and talking about this…… if needed let the WTA do its work and let’s move on. Same with Sinner……," another wrote.

"Media always trying to create something and extract words from her mouth. Wise brave Coco," one replied.

Where can Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff meet at the 2025 Australian Open?

2025 Australian Open Previews - Source: Getty

At the 2025 Australian Open, Iga Swiatek, the No. 2 seed, will open her campaign against Katerina Siniakova. On the other hand, No. 3 seed Coco Gauff will start with a first-round clash against Sofia Kenin.

Swiatek and Gauff are placed in opposite halves of the draw, and can only meet in the final. The biggest obstacles standing in their way until then are most likely to be World No. 1 and two-time defending champ Aryna Sabalenka for Gauff, and World No. 4 and two-time Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini for Swiatek.