The pitfalls of sports stars using negative feedback as fuel for winning

Not long after Coco Gauff won a maiden Grand Slam at the US Open, the American teenager stood on centre court, took the microphone and gave a speech.

She thanked her parents, her brothers, her team, her supporters, then sent a message to her detractors.

“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” said the 19-year-old. “I tried my best to carry this with grace and I’ve been doing my best. So honestly, to those who thought they were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it and now I’m really burning so bright right now.”

Gauff later added in her champion’s press conference that she closely followed the negative comments directed towards her on social media, and knows all the X, formerly Twitter, handles of those who were “talking trash” about her.

“I can't wait to look on Twitter right now,” she said with a laugh, the US Open trophy shining beside her on the dais.

Gauff’s words resonated with many players, including Maria Sakkari, who ended a four-plus-year title drought by triumphing at the WTA 1000 tournament in Guadalajara last week.

Sakkari’s six-match losing streak in finals and subpar record in semi-finals has been frequently mocked by tennis fans on social media over the past few years and the Greek top-10 star was well aware of it.

“We live in 2023. Social media is a part of our everyday life. You cannot avoid it. Coco said she knows the usernames [of her trolls]. I know them, too. I know the person with a YouTube channel who posts all my semi-final losses, all my final losses. I'm aware,” Sakkari told WTA Insider in an interview.

“The satisfaction now, I cannot describe it. When you prove all these people wrong, it's fuel. For me, it worked as fuel.”

That feeling of wanting to prove your