2 weeks Ago By Martha Riley
Coco Gauff has yet another reason to celebrate, and it has nothing to do with tennis. The 20-year-old has been on a three-week tournament break as she prepares for the year-end WTA Finals in Riyadh, but has continued to rack up the achievements off the court during this time. After leading the way among the tennis players named on SportsPro's annual list of the world's 50 most marketable athletes last week, Gauff was then given the ultimate surprise just days later.
The American received a mention from rapper Tyler, The Creator in his latest song 'Thought I was Dead'. In the single, ahead of the release of his upcoming album 'Chromakopia', Tyler raps: "B****, you ain't Coco Gauff, you can't serve me." And it didn't take long for this to come to Gauff's attention, with the tennis star known to be a huge fan of the musician.
Replying to a teaser of the track's music video on X, the world number three gushed: "waking up to my name being mentioned in a tyler song...
absolutely insane. thank you." Gauff also shared a clip of Tyler's reference on her Instagram story, alongside the caption: "What Tyler said.
" The shout out would undoubtedly have been a dream come true for the US tennis sensation, who has made no secret of her love for the artist in the past. In November 2023, Gauff attended the annual Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival music festival, which was founded by Tyler. Whilst at the event, she was also pictured wearing a varsity jacket from Tyler's 'Golf Le Fleur' lifestyle brand.
And while the 2023 US Open Champion was clearly thrilled with the name-drop, some users online were quick to point out the facts surrounding the rapper's 'serve' reference. Gauff herself has identified the shot as an area for improvement , having admitted that she would be focusing on developing it with new coach Matt Daly, who specialises in grip changes. In her last outing, a semi-final defeat to Aryna Sabalenka at the Wuhan Open, Gauff served an astonishing 21 double faults.
This detail was not lost on fans, who quickly highlighted this in their analysis of Tyler's lyrics. One wrote: "I would've picked another player." Another added: "lmao the irony of using her serve as a flex.
He clearly doesn’t watch tennis." With one tournament remaining of her 2024 season, Gauff will be hoping an improved serve can help her to end the year on a high at the WTA Tour finals, which begin in Riyadh on Saturday, November 2. Her previous best in the competition came last yea, reaching the semi-finals, and the American now has a shot at going one further as she targets a strong finish to a tough year.
Despite tournament wins at the Auckland Open in January and the China Open earlier this month, Grand Slams have proved less successful for Gauff this term. She suffered semi-final defeats at both the Australian and French Open , while she crashed out of both Wimbledon and the US Open in the fourth round..
