The tennis icon and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, teamed up to shut down the hate directed towards the young athlete’s actions at the Australian Open quarter-finals. They defended her emotional meltdown, with Williams offering better smashing tips.

Serena Williams is no stranger to breaking rackets and caused quite a stir during her tennis career. Her past may be one of the reasons why she and Alexis Ohanian defended Coco Gauff from critics.

Williams penned her support for Gauff on X, reposting her husband’s passionate message to the media outlets and critics slamming the young athlete. She applauded him for speaking out against the backlash, stressing that it was unwarranted.

“Well said. @alexisohanian Passion. Caring. Matters. Nothing wrong with hating to lose,” Williams wrote. She also poked fun at the situation by reminding fans of her past as a racket-smashing pro. “Now, Coco, when you want, I can show you how to demolish in one swipe… Serena style,” she added.

Gauff saw the post and showcased her appreciation with three red hearts and two laughing emojis. As for Williams’ husband, he dropped two posts calling out the media for attacking Gauff to make headlines. Ohanian first tweeted that he loved the athlete’s energy and saw nothing wrong with her emotional meltdown.

In his second post, Ohanian shared a video filmed in his car, where he slammed the media for shaming Gauff. He doubled down on there being nothing wrong with her emotional reaction to losing her match, arguing that “smashing a racket is not a big deal.”

Ohanian pointed out that Gauff had the courtesy to express her emotions away from the court, noting she believed she had been off-camera. He saw her situation as a double standard, believing a man would never have gotten the same media outrage for slamming his racket.

Fans echoed similar sentiments, with someone dropping a compilation of male tennis players smashing their rackets on the court. Others agreed that Gauff had gone off-camera to vent, only to have her private moment broadcast. “It made me angry for her,” a fan declared.

As seen in a video shared by TNT Sports on X, Gauff left the court after suffering a heartbreaking loss at the Australian Open quarter-finals. Her Melbourne journey ended after losing to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, a moment she chose to react to in private.

Gauff walked off the court and attempted to hide herself behind a low wall inside the tunnel, where she proceeded to smash her racket on the ground in frustration. After the incident went viral, she addressed the matter during a press conference after the match.

The tennis player explained that she believed there had been no cameras around because she once broke her racket on the court at the French Open and vowed never to do it again. She also slammed the organization for not giving athletes the privacy to vent, calling for changes.

Gauff isn’t the first tennis player Ohanian has defended from critics, as he has a wealth of experience from shutting down allegations about his wife. Earlier this month, The Blast reported that the Reddit co-founder had addressed Williams’ bleaching speculations.

The drama began after the former professional tennis player shared pictures from her family’s appearance at her sister, Venus Williams’ wedding. The snap captured the Golden Slam honoree in a strapless dress, posing with her two daughters and husband.

Many suspected that Williams was bleaching her skin because her caramel shade looked lighter in the snap. Ohanian found the notion ridiculous, labeling critics “idiots” for not understanding how photography lighting worked. Williams previously shut down the bleaching allegations in December 2025.

The same month she addressed the bleaching allegations, Williams shut down fans’ hope for a possible comeback. The Blast covered the story, reporting that there were widespread speculations about her return to tennis.

However, Williams denied these rumors on X, declaring that she was “NOT coming back.” Despite her clear answer, many still believed she had plans to return to tennis temporarily if not fully. Some even begged her for a doubles reunion with her sister.

The comeback speculations began after she reportedly informed the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) about her desire to reenter the sport’s International Registered Testing Pool. This was a necessary step for athletes who wished to return to the court.