Indian Wells 2021: Coco Gauff warns fellow teenage tennis star Emma Raducanu to stay off 'overwhelming' social media

ByHarry Latham Coyle

Published 06/10/2021 at 14:47 GMT

Gauff joked that the newly-crowned US Open champion, one year the American's senior, would be better placed to advise her, despite Gauff having accrued more tournaments on the WTA Tour at this point. The pair are the 15th and 17th seeds in California and have both been given a bye into the second round.

Coco Gauff has warned fellow teenage tennis star Emma Raducanu to be wary of social media.

Raducanu secured a remarkable maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in September having previously catapulted herself to prominence with her run to the fourth round at Wimbledon earlier this summer.

Gauff similarly emerged on the grass courts of southwest London after upsetting Venus Williams as a 15-year-old in 2019.

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While joking that Raducanu should be the one advising Gauff after her success, the American did suggest that the British teenager needs to try and spend time off of her phone to avoid social media "overwhelming" her.

"The best thing I could [say], and I'm sure she's probably heard it, is to set time aside from the phone," said Gauff ahead the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

"Because 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.

"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."

Raducanu now has more than two million followers on Instagram, nearly three times as many as Gauff.

The 18-year-old has brushed shoulders with some of the world's most famous individuals since her win in New York, including appearances at the Met Gala and the premiere of No Time To Die, the latest iteration of the James Bond franchise.

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Gauff said that she should be particularly wary of those who bet on matches, suggesting that she may find safe haven in Chinese-owned short-form video sharing app TikTok.

"For me, the best app when I've got a match is TikTok if I want to get my mind off stuff," Gauff explained.

"The bettors haven't got there yet! But also, I feel TikTok does a great job of filtering their comments and deleting inappropriate comments automatically. So it's an app thing too."

Both players have been given first round byes at the prestigious Indian Wells tournament.

They are the 15th (Gauff) and 17th (Raducanu) seeds in a field containing many of the world's top female tennis players.

Gauff is also playing doubles in California, partnering another teenager familiar to Raducanu: Leylah Fernandez, the US Open runner-up.

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