Coco Gauff surprisingly beats Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic to award in ceremony hosted by Serena Williams

Coco Gauff won the ESPY Award for Best Tennis Player, surpassing Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic. However, tennis fans expressed their disagreement on social media, considering that among the four candidates, Gauff achieved the least in the past year.

The ESPY Awards decided to combine the male and female categories into one, resulting in two male and two female candidates. This year’s nominees were the world No. 1 and No. 2 from 2023: Djokovic and Alcaraz for the men, and the No. 1 and No. 3 from 2023, Swiatek and Gauff, for the women.

“Coco Gauff won the ESPYS best tennis player over Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz AND Novak Djokovic. You can’t be serious about this.”

“If you are going to award her because she’s an American at the end of the day, what’s the point of putting her against three other players who are clearly way better than her? like ?? it’s just setting her up”

The ESPY Awards, which have been held since 1993, have historically been won by American players. In the male category, American men have won the award 11 times, while American women have won it 16 times, according to a user on X (formerly Twitter).

Gauff reacted on social media after learning she would receive the award, which recognizes her as the best tennis player, male or female, in 2023: “Apparently I won an espy, thank you. I am super grateful! I wish I could’ve attended! thank you to every one who voted"

The ESPY Awards, which have been held since 1993, have historically been won by American players. In the male category, American men have won the award 11 times, while American women have won it 16 times, according to a user on X (formerly Twitter).