Coco Gauff has booked her spot in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Miami Open with a hard-fought victory over Sorana Cîrstea in the fourth round. After sealing a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 triumph, she revealed that she had surprisingly relied on a social media comment for a key tactic she employed during the contest. Aryna Sabalenka later shared her thoughts on the American’s move and shed light on her own relationship with social media.
What Did Aryna Sabalenka Say About Coco Gauff’s Strategy?
Coco Gauff outlined the unexpected strategy behind her performance during her post-match interview, revealing that she had come across a post on X suggesting that she should go up to the net more often. She chose to put that advice into action during her clash with Cîrstea.
“Honestly, I saw a tweet that said I should go to the net more. I was like, ‘Yeah you’re right. I win a lot of net points.’ I honestly was thinking about that on match point and I was just hoping that I didn’t miss the volley at the net because I’ve done that a couple times, but I was just focused on getting it over the net,” Gauff said in her on-court interview.
When asked if she also paid attention to such social media input during her post-match press conference, Aryna Sabalenka dismissed the idea. She explained that she avoided diving too deep into online discourse because it was very “rude and mean,” making it clear that she wouldn’t be adopting a similar approach.
Nevertheless, the World No. 1 acknowledged that the move had helped Gauff. She even humorously thanked the reporter for the insight into the American’s game ahead of their next match.
“I mean, of course I see some of the things, but for some reason I see more negative than positive about myself. So I try not to really look deep, and whenever I see my picture or something about myself, I go to the next one because sometimes people are just being rude and mean to all of us, and I feel like it just isn’t really worth reading and going through,” Sabalenka said. “But if it helped, it helped. I mean, we’re all different, right? So, if it helped. And thanks for letting me know. Now I’m going to be ready that she’s coming to the net.”
Since the two stars feature in opposite halves of the Miami Open draw, they will both need to reach the final for Sabalenka to take advantage of her newfound knowledge of Coco Gauff’s tactics.
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Coco Gauff Echoes Aryna Sabalenka’s Sentiments About Social Media
During her post-match press conference, Coco Gauff clarified that the comment she mentioned was actually something she saw on Threads. She disclosed that she had been taking a break from X (formerly Twitter) because it was too “toxic,” a sentiment which echoed Aryna Sabalenka’s views on social media.
“Yeah, actually I saw it on threads. I got confused. It wasn’t Twitter because I’m on a Twitter break. Yeah, Twitter’s a bit toxic. So I actually haven’t been on in like a month or two months. So I saw it on Threads. But I guess I have to remember that part of my game,” she said.
Up next, Gauff will face Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 event. The American will head into the showdown with an edge, as she holds a 4-2 lead in their head-to-head record. Meanwhile, Sabalenka will battle it out against Hailey Baptiste for a spot in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
