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Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff Writer
PARIS — As the reigning U.S. Open champion and the current No. 2 women’s tennis player globally, Coco Gauff was already going to be fairly recognizable around the Olympic Village.
But now that she’s been named Team USA’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony alongside two-time Olympic gold medalist LeBron James, her popularity on the premises has skyrocketed.
“Walking around the village last night and so many people came out to congratulate me and even some of the people who were on Team USA who I guess voted for me who I didn’t know,” Gauff said Thursday. “They were like, ‘Yeah, I was one of the people who nominated you, and we couldn’t have asked for a better person.'”
Although the newfound spotlight has been welcomed by Gauff’s tennis teammates, she’s quick to acknowledge just how caught off guard she was to learn that she would be the first tennis player to lead an American Olympic delegation.
Even 24 hours before carrying the flag with James while floating on a boat down the Seine, the honor still has not yet fully registered.
“No, because I guess there’s never been a tennis player before, and I just didn’t think I would be that player,” Gauff said. “But I’m obviously very, super grateful for my fellow Team USA athletes for nominating me and allowing me to hold this honor.
“It means even more when it comes to the peers around me because they’re obviously excellent at what they do, and for me to be a part of that excellence means a lot.”
Officially, her name was placed for consideration by fellow tennis player and longtime friend, Chris Eubanks. Like 20-year-old Gauff, Eubanks is making his Olympics debut.
“People are starting to kind of see her for more than just a tennis player, and I think that’s kind of one of the major things that being flag-bearer represents,” Eubanks said. “Not only your accomplishments on the court but what you kind of bring to the world and what else do you offer off the court? She does a great job of both.”
It was Eubanks who informed Gauff she was Team USA’s second flag-bearer. He was giving what initially appeared to be an impromptu speech in front of the rest of the U.S. tennis team before he suddenly delivered the news that brought Gauff to tears.
“Chris is like a big brother to me,” Gauff said. “I’ve known him since probably when I started tennis when I was 6 or 7, and hearing it from someone so close to me, that kind of made the surprise even bigger because he says those kinds of things to me maybe privately.
“I was very confused, and I thought, ‘OK, this is not the time. Like you want to tell me this, you could tell me in the back or something.’ … I really just thought it was going to be a ‘I’m so proud of you’ speech. But I was definitely already planning on cussing him out. So, whoever told him to do it was smart. I didn’t expect it, and it meant a lot to me.”
U.S. women’s tennis coach Kathy Rinaldi mentioned one benefit of simply being in Gauff’s presence since Wednesday’s announcement: “We’re getting the really good [Olympic] pins.” One traded pin even came from seven-time Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Katie Ledecky.
Gauff was forced to miss the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021 after a positive COVID-19 test result came back just days before the Games were to begin. With pandemic restrictions in effect for those Olympics, she was unable to compete.
In Paris, she will compete in singles, doubles and mixed doubles events at famed Roland Garros, home of the French Open.
“I watch [the Olympics] every year. It’s my most exciting time,” Gauff said. “So, to be an Olympian, I knew definitely that it was a no-brainer for me to do this opportunity. I can’t wait to compete and just try my best and have the honor of doing all three events. I’m really excited.”