Rising Tennis Stars: Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz
In the realm of rising tennis stars, Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz stand out as two of the most promising figures. An amusing anecdote has surfaced, shedding light on a past interaction between them. In a candid revelation, Gauff recounted a time when Alcaraz reached out to her, but, unbeknownst to him, she did not recognize him at all.
Gauff, who shot to fame at just 15 years old during her impressive fourth-round run at Wimbledon 2019—which included a victorious match against her idol, Venus Williams—was already making headlines. Meanwhile, Alcaraz, only a year her senior and not yet a household name, was quietly making strides in junior tournaments, with only die-hard fans paying attention to his achievements.
Shared Success and Humorous miscommunication
Both young athletes had represented their nations in junior competitions, specifically in events like the Fed Cup and Davis Cup. During a recent interview at Roland Garros, Gauff reminisced about their shared success at that level, recalling that they had both enjoyed victories for their respective countries.
Things took a humorous turn when Gauff shared that Alcaraz had messaged her during her Wimbledon journey, asking if she remembered him. To his dismay, Gauff could not place him, leading her to ignore the message for several years.
I did well at Wimbledon in 2019, and Alcaraz actually DM’d me saying, ‘Hey Coco, do you remember me?’ because we apparently won the Junior Fed Cup at the same time, and I didn’t respond since I didn’t remember him.
Fast forward to 2022, when Carlos captured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. The success prompted Gauff to shoot him a congratulatory message, prompting a chuckle as she reflected on their earlier communication, noting the stark contrasts in their time-spanning DMs.
If you look at our DMs (laughs), our spread is like, ‘Hey, do you remember me?’ and then me saying ‘Congratulations.’ I feel bad that I didn’t respond.
The fact that Gauff didn’t recognize Alcaraz back then adds to the humor, especially considering his current acclaim and the global fanfare surrounding both players today. Their relationship appears to have transformed positively since then, as evidenced by photos of them sharing a high-five during practice at Roland Garros.
Light-hearted Moments
In other light-hearted moments, Gauff recently made headlines for mistakenly forgetting her rackets for the first round at Roland Garros, a blunder she realized only after arriving on court. Fortunately, a ball boy quickly came to her aid with equipment retrieved by her team, and she later took to social media to joke about the incident after defeating Olivia Gadecki.
Alcaraz, for his part, added a dose of humor during a pre-tournament press conference in Paris, when questioned about the doping case involving Max Purcell. He joked that the details were so perplexing they sounded like they were in a foreign language to him. Clearly, both players not only share a love for tennis but also a knack for keeping the atmosphere light and entertaining for their fans.
