‘How Disrespectful’ – Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina’s ‘Rude’ Treatment by US Open Crowd Angers Tennis World
Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina produced a thrilling semifinal clash at the 2026 US Open, with Rybakina staging an impressive comeback to advance to the final. However, despite the riveting on-court battle, much of the post-match discourse centered on the crowd’s behavior at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the tennis community criticizing its impact on both players..
Why the US Open Crowd Faced Criticism After Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina’s Semifinal
As Rybakina made an error-prone start to the semifinal, Gauff capitalized by winning the opening set 6-3, while enjoying the passionate support of her home crowd. However, Rybakina responded admirably in the second set to force a decider.
The Kazakhstani star then took a 5-3 lead in the third set and served for the match, but Gauff secured a crucial break to keep her hopes alive. Despite the setback, Rybakina held her nerve to seal a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory after Gauff sent an overhead shot long during her service game.
Following Rybakina’s victory, tennis journalist José Morgado pointed out that fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium had started screaming during the final rally of the match. Several fans echoed his sentiments, suggesting that the untimely cheers may have distracted Gauff on the last overhead.
“20k screaming while Gauff was trying to hit that last overhead. Yikes,” Morgado posted.
“It’s funny how they clearly wanted her to win and they couldn’t shut up when she was literally fighting on match point 😭 just dumb as hell,” a fan commented.
“Why the US crowd always scream during points. That 100% messed up coco on that smash,” said another.
Others, meanwhile, criticized the perceived “disrespectful” and “rude” treatment of Rybakina, complaining about the lack of applause for the champion and the fact that most of the spectators left the stadium before her on-court interview.
“Great match …crowd frankly disgraceful. 2 athletes giving their all yet the crowd scarpered once their favourite lost. Discourteous, rude and lacking any style. Felt so sorry for the victor,” one fan posted.
“How embarrassing! Fans just stood up & walked off when Coco lost. No clapping for Rybakina. Just emptied out. How disrespectful,” another fan chimed in.
“I can’t believe they treated Elena rybakina like that 😭 you can’t wait 5 min for her winners speech?? Then yelling when she was serving, and No applause when she walked in before the match. 😭,” a user wrote.
Amid the discourse, Elena Rybakina will be focused on gearing up for her highly anticipated showdown with Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final. Rybakina will head into the match with an edge, having triumphed over the Belarusian in the Australian Open final earlier this year.
