The U.S. announced on Wednesday that tennis star Coco Gauff, 20, the defending U.S. Open champion, will be the women's Olympic flag bearer.
Coco Gauff of the United States reacts after beating Sonay Kartal of Great Britain in the third round match during day five of Wimbledon on July 05, 2024, in London, England., 39, for the honor: the two-time Olympic gold medalist got the nod as a sort of fitting lifetime achievement award. Gauff becomes the first tennis player to be selected as Opening ceremonies flag bearer, an honor chosen by fellow Olympic athletes and/or team captains.
While many current tennis stars are skipping the Olympics, due to the extra workload—Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe among them—Gauff has been looking forward to Paris, and her Olympic debut, for some time. “I get goosebumps representing my country,”old TIME back in March, sitting at the public courts she grew up playing on in Delray Beach, Fla. “I want to win a gold so bad.” AGauff is entered into three events: women’s singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
She stuck with tennis, and after Wimbledon that summer suddenly found herself sitting in Michelle Obama’s Washington, D.C. office. Obama’s main piece of advice: It’s OK to say no to people when they’re making too many demands. Gauff also showed maturity beyond her years in 2020, when she spoke out against police violence following the murder of George Floyd, against the advice of her parents who were worried about their 16-year-old daughter weighing in on a charged issue. “If you are choosing silence,” she said at a protest in Delray Beach, “you are choosing the side of the oppressor.” Her tennis fell short of expectations the next few years: pundits chirped about her forehand as being a weak spot.
But a run to her first Grand Slam final, at the French in 2022, where she lost to Swiatek, lifted her confidence, and she delighted the hometown fans during her victory at last year’s U.S. Open, riffing on her love of anime and how doubters inspired her. She was the first American teen to win the U.S. Open in nearly a quarter century.TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
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