Coco Gauff does not have any shortage of A-list celebrities to rally for her. From Michelle and Barrack Obama to Jimmy Butler, from Hailey and Justin Bieber to Katie Holmes- the list is glaring. But that has not taken the humility away from her. Time-to-time she did not miss to acknowledge those millions who do not enjoy the spotlight, yet holds Coco quite close to their hearts. One among those was present in the audience at the ongoing Berlin Open.
Coco Gauff’s grass-court performance is on fire! Swiftly transitioning from the clay courts of the French Open to the lush green courts in Berlin, the new World No. 2 is once again showing her prowess on-court by qualifying for the quarter-final of the event. Defeating her Round-of-16 opponent, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Gauff has not only won her match but has also stolen the heart of a young fan, Maurice with her gesture. After a touching exchange with the fan, Gauff poured her heart out about her feelings!
When Coco Gauff beat Alexandrova by 7-6, 6-2, little did she know that waiting for her was a young German fan to congratulate her. However, this was not a surprise encounter between the two! The No. 1 seeded player in Berlin was also eagerly waiting to meet him after she learned how the fan DM’d her hitting partner, saying “Oh I’m going to be here,” earlier. True to his words, the fan, who also runs a fan page for Coco Gauff on Instagram, was there to meet her favorite player through a meeting arranged by Gauff’s hitting partner.
“I was hoping he would come up to me,” wtatennis.com quoted the 20-year-old player saying after her match, and her wish came true. When Gauff was moving through the crowd during her post-match greetings, her superfan, Maurice, was eagerly waiting for his turn. As soon as Gauff came to him, Maurice quickly asked for the reigning U.S. Open champion’s autograph.
Stunned at first, Gauff eventually obliged and fulfilled his wish. “This was my dream. I am so happy,” Maurice exclaimed in joy. Witnessing this heartfelt moment, the semifinalist of the French Open, could not hold back her emotions as well. “He was very shy at first and I could see that he was starting to get emotional and I was starting to cry,” she later admitted.
However, Gauff further added, “Luckily, no tear fell, his eyes just watered. But if a tear fell I would have cried because it’s just amazing how much what you do can have an impact on someone. The fact that he feels so happy for me just to say hello, just gave me so much emotion and it’s why I do it.”
Coco Gauff’s “crazy” encounter with fans has frequently amazed everyone. A few months ago in Madrid, another such incident occurred. On April 25, Coco Gauff took to her Instagram and shared an encounter with one of her ardent fans. It all started when a fan asked her to sign her arm during her post-match greetings.
Posting a video of that meetup on her story, she wrote, “post-match she had me sign her arm and said she was gonna tattoo that and this outline of me on her.” She declared, “I normally don’t record videos like this, but I had the craziest fan. She is the sweetest soul…”
Later, she added another post with the arm of her fan tattooed and wrote, “And she actually got it tatted. MADRID ENERGY IS DIFFERENT! SOB fr. oh my god.” Such a fan-followed Coco also has an inner fangirl who was once “starstruck” to find her favorites on the court.
Who can blow away Coco Gauff?
It was her 2023 US Open third-round match against Belgium’s Elise Mertens where she registered a fabulous comeback win. “I definitely saw who was there,” Gauff told ESPN after the match. “I thought, ‘I cannot lose in front of Justin Bieber.’ I didn’t lose a game after I saw that,” she further added. But it’s not just Bieber’s presence, there is more to it.
“‘Never Say Never’ was like the first, I think one of my favorite songs when I was a kid,” Gauff had elaborated. It seemed on that day, Gauff precisely took her inspiration from that as she secured 3-6 6-3 6-0 win. But wait! The Canadian pop icon is not the only one whom Coco looks up to.
“I was thinking about the Renaissance Tour during my match. I think about a lot of different things. Honestly, it keeps me relaxed. I don’t know if it’s a coping mechanism or what,” Coco revealed at the post-match press conference. She is so much floored by the 32 Grammy winner that finding her in attendance in the middle of a match could have distracted her big time!
“If she ever came, oh, my goodness, I hope they would not show her on the screen. Maybe at the end,” Coco had said back in 2023. But Coco’s never-say-die attitude does not only come from Bieber’s song. There is a real-life inspiration as well.
“He has that mentality really of, you know, no matter what the odds are against him, he’s gonna give it his all. I think he has the talent and the mentality. It’s just taking him even further. … Realistically, between two weeks or between Wimbledon and the next tournament I played, nothing could have really changed that much. It was really just the mental thing. I think that’s what I learned from watching Jimmy compete over the years,” Coco had said about her favorite team Miami Heat’s small forward Jimmy Butler.
As Coco Gauff explores her journey on grass courts this season, hopefully, more such encounters will continue to melt her heart!