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regular-article-logo Saturday, 05 October 2024

Coco Gauff tells Emma Raducanu to avoid social media

The American teenager, who shot to fame as a 15-year-old when she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2019, urged her to take time away from phone

Reuters New York Published 08.10.21, 03:38 AM
Emma Raducanu.

Emma Raducanu. File photo

American teenager Coco Gauff has urged US Open champion Emma Raducanu to be wary of social media following the Briton’s maiden Grand Slam triumph at Flushing Meadows last month.

Raducanu, who became the first qualifier to win a grand slam, has since gained thousands of new followers on social media, setting up an account on Chinese microblogging site Weibo to keep in touch with fans in that country.

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Gauff, who shot to fame as a 15-year-old when she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2019, urged the 18-year-old Raducanu to take time away from her phone.

“It is exciting when you get all the retweets, all the follows and all of that, but it can be a bit overwhelming. At least in my experience. That’s probably what I wish I would’ve known, not to focus on social media,” said the world No.19.

Roger Federer, a 20-time grand slam champion, also recently suggested that the next generation of tennis stars like Raducanu needed help to prevent abuse on social media affecting them.

“I put a time limit on my phone because I thought I was spending too much time on it. From 8:30am to 9:30pm I have limited access to apps,” Gauff added.

Gauff and Raducanu will be in action this week in Indian Wells, which returns after two years following the pandemic.

Former British No. 1 Johanna Konta said she was amazed by Raducanu’s achievement in New York and added she does not expect anything to faze her successor.

“I was watching in awe. She really took it in her stride. I can imagine Emma taking everything in her stride,” Konta, who skipped Indian Wells with a groin injury, told the BBC.

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