Coco Gauff didn’t take long to respond after online criticism hit her for embracing her natural hair in a Miu Miu fashion shoot.
The two-time Grand Slam champion, 22, posted images from a shoot for the label on Apr. 2. In a video shared Apr. 9, she described the setting in a way that felt almost casual—“literally me and my social person in my parents’ back yard.” That backyard detail matters, because the backlash online wasn’t about where the shoot took place. It was about what her hair looked like, and how some commenters decided to interpret it.
Gauff said the shoot was coordinated to match the brand’s version of an everyday or minimal aesthetic, and for her that meant wearing her 4C hair naturally. The “4C” reference is based on a scale that aims to measure the tightness, curl shape and curl density of hair. But some people watching the photos weren’t interested in any of that. They labeled the look “unkempt” and even drew comparisons to “civil-rights-era” hairstyles—an approach that, frankly, turns personal style into some sort of argument people think they’re entitled to have.
In her response, Gauff also tied the decision to her life as an athlete. She said her hair choices are intertwined with playing tennis, and that she doesn’t like slicking her hair back into a super-sleek style because it does damage her hair. “I personally don’t like to slick back my hair super-sleek, because it does damage my hair,” she said. “I do play tennis, so most of the time when I’m wearing it in a bun, I choose to allow my hair to be and to present in its 4C self, because I do have 4C hair.”
She went on to explain what she’s comfortable with day to day—she doesn’t want it “super-slicked-back,” saying “it’s just not good for my hair.” Then the message widened, getting less about Miu Miu specifically and more about expression. She encouraged people to express themselves across the full spectrum of Black hair, just as she has throughout her career on and off the court. “If you want to straighten your hair, permanently straighten your hair, perm your hair. If you want to wear your hair afro, wear your hair afro. If you want to wear braids, wear braids. If you want to wear cornrows, wear cornrows. If you want to slick back your hair to the Gods, slick it back; if you don’t and you just wanna put it in a bun, put it in the bun.”
Gauff also acknowledged the emotional impact, saying the criticism did “knock a diva down,” but she “got back up” quickly. “Black women are beautiful. Black hair texture — kinky, Afro hair texture — is beautiful,” she said. She’s hardly the first Black athlete to have to translate how she looks into other people’s comfort levels, though. In a report for Misryoum last fall, Black British women’s footballers, including Manchester City’s Khiara Keating and Tottenham’s Jessica Naz, outlined how some more elaborate styles require extensive planning and lengthy appointments—things that can clash with their schedules. Or maybe tennis, with all its movement and time pressures, just makes those questions harder to avoid.
While the internet debate swirled around her shoot, Gauff is also stepping into a crucial stretch of the 2026 season. She last year reached the final in all three of the biggest clay-court tournaments—the Madrid Open, the Italian Open in Rome, and the French Open—winning the latter over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a memorable final. The first starts Apr. 20 in the Spanish capital. And if her critics wanted a return to “tidy,” polish-approved hair, they didn’t exactly get one—she seems to have decided, instead, to keep doing what she says works for her, even if the comments section stays loud.
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