Coco Gauff Makes Funny Jannik Sinner Comment While Asked About her New Ginger Hair Heading into the Australian Open

Known for her strong sense of style, World No. 3 Coco Gauff has kicked off the new year with a bold new ginger hairstyle. The American tennis star was asked how it feels to be a “ginger” now, during the Australian Open press conference, to which she laughed and made a playful reference to two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.

Sinner’s ginger hair color is quite a standout and is also the inspiration for his fox logo. Speaking about her new hairstyle, Gauff remarked:

It feels good. I thought it would help me out, considering there’s another ginger doing really well. So maybe it’ll give me some luck because he has a pretty good record here and I don’t. So we’ll see.

New year, new hair for @CocoGauff 🧡

Will becoming ginger be Coco's good luck charm at AO 2026? pic.twitter.com/4vtLLVgn47

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2026

The World No. 2 will be aiming for an elusive three-peat at this year’s Australian Open. Novak Djokovic is the only male player to have achieved this feat so far. The Serb won three consecutive titles from 2011 to 2013 and from 2019 to 2012. Sinner’s biggest competitor is World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who will be bidding to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam in the Open Era.

Coco Gauff believes Grand Slam prize money is “not where we would like it” ahead of first major of the year

Earlier this month, the Australian Open announced a record-breaking prize pool of AUD 111.5 million, a 16% increase from 2025. The men’s and women’s singles champions will pocket AUD 4.15 million. It marks the biggest increase in the tournament’s history, but with revenue also surging, players believe they deserve a higher proportion of the Slams’ income. Coco Gauff spoke about the expectations of players on this issue:

From my understanding, they obviously increased the prize money this year. The percentage is still, of revenue comparison, not where we would like it. I think there’s still further conversations that have to be had, not just with the Australian Open but with all the slams. We have player representatives that have been working really hard to do that a lot for us because we can’t do it, be in person, as often.

The 21-year-old will be aiming to clinch her third Grand Slam title at the tournament. Her best result at the tournament was in 2024, when she reached the semifinals. She commenced her 2026 season with the United Cup, where Team USA reached the semifinals, falling to eventual champions Team Poland.

Coco Gauff’s Australian Open draw

Coco Gauff will commence her Australian Open campaign against Kamilla Rakhimova on Monday. The pair met for the first time on court last year in Beijing, where Gauff defeated Rakhimova in her opening round match. Gauff could potentially meet seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in the second round.

In the third round, Gauff could meet Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, a player she lost to a few days back at the United Cup. Karolina Muchova or Alexandra Eala awaits her in the fourth round. Gauff could face Elina Svitolina or Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals.

Both Svitolina and Andreeva have had a good start to the season, with Svitolina winning the title in Auckland and Andreeva reaching the final in Adelaide, which is scheduled for Saturday. Gauff could meet two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals and Iga Swiatek or Elena Rybakina in the final.

Also Read: Kim Clijsters Explains How Coco Gauff is Putting Iga Swiatek ‘Out of Balance’ After Latest Defeat