The high-voltage clash between Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka on Monday afternoon proved to be a one-sided affair and failed to live up the hype. The veteran delivered a masterclass, dismantling the third-seeded Gauff in a dominant straight-sets victory (6-3, 6-2) marked by her clean power and Gauff’s uncharacteristic 33 unforced errors. But apart from Osaka’s brilliance at Arthur Ashe, this match also became a talking point for ESPN announcer and WTA legend Chris Evert’s alleged ‘biased‘ commentary.

The core of the controversy lies in Evert’s perceived focus on Coco Gauff’s emotional struggles and technical faults while failing to at least acknowledge Naomi Osaka’s commanding performance. Throughout the broadcast, Evert repeatedly highlighted Gauff’s “rough week” and the immense pressure she was under, often framing the match through the lens of the American’s disappointments rather than the Japanese star’s brilliance.

She talked at length about how the past week was ‘just too much’ for Gauff. Notably, the 21-year-old WTA star has been going through a major shift in her serve after winning the Roland Garros earlier this year. During the US Open, Coco even emotionally broke down in one of her earlier matches. “Honestly, today was a tough match for me, but I’m just happy with how I was able to manage it. It’s been a rough couple of weeks,” she had said.

As for fans, it did not take long to notice the bias from the 18-time Grand Slam champion and ignite immediate and fierce backlash from viewers, accusing her of unfair criticism towards Osaka.

Chris Evert’s comment about Coco Gauff triggered a lot of fans

Fans didn’t really vibe with how Chris Evert spoke about Coco Gauff. A fan pointed out, “ESPN did a whole tribute to Chris Evert and at the end the first thing she did was take a shot at Coco Gauff.” One fan called out Evert for bringing up a personal and emotional moment from Gauff’s past, writing, “Don’t understand why chris evert needed to bring up coco gauff’s tears just now. weird and unnecessary.”

Another fan called out Evert for not giving proper credit to Gauff’s opponents. Instead, they felt Evert just made excuses for Gauff’s losses, writing in a comment, “Chris Evert’s ongoing and incessant excuse-making and ‘contextualizing’ Coco Gauff’s loss again is nauseating. Tournament in, tournament out, Evert’s cheerleading for Gauff is irritating. Osaka just trounced her massively – quickly and easily – and Evert couldn’t give kudos to Osaka, no. It was about Coco not having it mentally and emotionally. It gets so old. It really does. I mean is she on Coco’s payroll? I’ll say it – Naomi Osaka was demonstrably, significantly better than Coco Gauff. Shame Chris Evert is so reluctant to give her props.”

Another fan commented, “What would it take for Chris Evert to just say Coco isn’t the best player on the Court? Or that if someone like Osaka or Sabalenka doesn’t beat themselves, Coco isn’t good enough to win?” A fan mentioned Evert’s bias, writing, “Chris Evert and her constant prattle are another reason to watch the US Open muted.” In the end, the whole controversy took away from what really should have been a moment to celebrate Naomi Osaka’s amazing performance and her triumphant comeback to the top of the sport.