Coco Gauff has a clear message for her fans: if someone claiming to be her is asking for money, it isn't her.

The American tennis star took to social media shortly after her US Open run ended to address a growing problem with impersonation. 

"And while we are here, I will never ask people to send me money. I have been told there are a lot of accounts scamming people pretending to be me,” said Gauff in an X post. “I am not on Telegram or would communicate with people on WhatsApp. Please DO NOT send money to 'me' because I promise it's not me.”

The warning comes right after a disappointing finish in New York. Gauff reached the semifinals of the 2026 US Open before falling to Elena Rybakina in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. She took the first set before Rybakina, freshly crowned world No. 1, took control of the match. The loss ended her hopes of a second US Open title, three years after her breakthrough win there in 2023.

In the days following her exit, fake accounts began popping up, some using recent tournament photos of her and even copying emotional posts she'd shared herself. Her overall message was simple: she doesn't reach out to fans privately through messaging apps, and she never asks for money.

Impersonation scams targeting athletes and celebrities have become increasingly common, especially in the immediate aftermath of major tournaments when public attention peaks. These fake accounts often claim to need financial help, dangle the promise of exclusive interaction, or create a false sense of urgency to pressure fans into sending money. 

Gauff's decision to address it publicly via an X post on her account directly reflects both an awareness of how often this happens and a desire to protect the people who follow her.

Gauff isn’t the first tennis star to warn fans about scams

Gauff isn't the first tennis star to warn fans about scams

Coco Gauff's warning to fans fits into a much bigger, increasingly troubling pattern across sports: elite athletes are being forced to double as cybersecurity advocates for their own fan bases.

Tennis star Rafael Nadal's experience shows just how far the technology has come. Scammers used AI-generated video and audio to insert the Spanish legend into fabricated investment ads, fooling viewers who recognized his face and voice without questioning whether it was real, as per the Times of India.

Gauff's situation looked different on the surface, with fraudsters building duplicate profiles to lure fans into private conversations on apps like Telegram and WhatsApp. But the underlying strategy is nearly identical. 

Both approaches exploit the same thing: the emotional connection fans feel toward the people they admire.

Do you think athletes and platforms are doing enough to get ahead of these scams before they spread? 

Written by

Zaid Quraishi