Coco Gauff left ecstatic after a personal meeting with the Obamas following her dramatic opening-round win at the 2023 US Open
Coco Gauff shares her experience meeting and getting advised by the Obamas after her first-round matchup at the US Open.
Coco Gauff in action during the match. The Obamas enjoying the Gauff natch. (credits: Tennis365, CNN)
The 2023 US Open has already kicked off, with several top tennis stars already featured on Day 1 of the competition. American tennis sensation Coco Gauff also started her campaign in great form after coming from behind and beating Laura Siegemund in her first-round matchup.
Gauff lost the first set by 6-3, but she soon rectified her mistakes, holding herself together for the next two sets, eventually winning the match by 6-3, 2-6, 4-6.
But the main joyous movement came after the match for the 19-year-old when she saw Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, standing in the wings waiting to greet her. Gauff was so delighted to see the Obamas, and after the match, she shared her experience of how blessed she felt to see them and that she will forever remember this moment.
After meeting the former president, Coco Gauff was left in sheer joy, saying, “I’ve met Mrs. Obama before. They told me it was just her initially. Then Mr. Obama was there in the room, too. I haven’t soaked it in because I literally just walked in here. I think I’m going to never forget that moment for the rest of my life. I went from being really upset after a win to being really happy.”
What advice did the Obamas give to Coco Gauff after her match?
In Gauff’s first-round encounter against Siegemund, an incident arose as Gauff found the German to be wasting minutes between points during the third set.
At first, Gauff didn’t want to complain to the match umpire but after some time, the situation went way ahead of her patience. She stood up for herself pointing out the incident to the referee, Marijana Veljovic.
About this incident, the Obamas were really impressed with her actions of stepping up in times of wrongdoing. In the post-match conference, Gauff shared the advice provided by the Obamas after the match saying, “They gave me some good advice. They just told me how I handle myself in these situations, she said it’s good to speak up for myself. I think she was happy that I spoke up for myself today.”
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