For once, it appears that paying attention to social media mentions paid off for a professional athlete.
U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff defeated Sorana Cirstea of Romania in the round of 16 match in the Miami Open on Monday.
The fourth-ranked player in the world later credited a post she saw on X, formerly Twitter, for pointing out an aspect of her game that she had not previously considered, and that it was a part of why she was able to win the match.
“I honestly, I saw a tweet that said I should go to the net more,” Gauff said after the match, “and I was like, ‘Yeah, you’re right, I win a lot of net points.’ So I honestly was thinking about that on match point, and I was just hoping I didn’t miss the ball in the net because I’ve done that a couple times, but I was just focused on just hitting it over the net.”
It appears that the post Gauff was referencing came from the X account @slice_szn (Slice & Dice, Inc).
“Coco I need you to go to the net like you did tonight WAY more often,” reads a post from the account on February 20. “We didn’t get the win in the end but my gosh was it amazing seeing you rush that net and put those balls away.”
The person behind the account immediately clocked that Gauff was referring to them, writing “She’s talking about me yall, I’m cocos new coach” on Monday.
She’s talking about me yall, I’m cocos new coach 🔥 https://t.co/3I5IQIBMfG pic.twitter.com/idSXWa8g6n
— slice and dice (@slice_szn) March 24, 2026
The account also updated its bio to read “Coco Gauff’s Interim Twitter Coach.”
Gauff had better be careful what she wishes for. Not only will this account presume that she’s reading what they have to say in the future, but plenty of other would-be tennis coaches are about to @ her a whole lot more.