Coco Gauff exchanges banter with close friend Jalen Sera as he shares highlights from his time in Florida amid her Miami Open campaign
Coco Gauff recently exchanged banter with her close friend, Jalen Sera, after he shared highlights from his time in Miami. Sera was there to support Gauff during her 2025 Miami Open campaign.
Gauff is still searching for her first title of the season. Her best result so far came at the Australian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals before falling to Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-4. She then received a first-round bye at the Qatar Open but was eliminated in the second round by Marta Kostyuk 2-6, 5-7.
A similar outcome followed at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where Gauff received a first-round bye but fell to compatriot McCartney Kessler 4-6, 5-7 in the second round. She fared better at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, reaching the fourth round before losing to Belinda Bencic 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
Gauff then turned her attention to the WTA 1000 event in Miami, where she made a dominant start with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Sofia Kenin. She followed it up with a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Maria Sakkari in the third round but suffered a surprising straight-sets defeat to Magda Linette in the fourth.
Gauff's family and her close friend, Jalen Sera, were in Miami, cheering her on from the stands. Sera later shared photos from his time in Florida on Instagram, prompting a reaction from the World No. 3.
Gauff responded in a colloquial tone, writing:
"flawdaaa"
Sera replied:
"flawdaaaa. my townnnnn!!!!"
Gauff had a witty reply of her own.
"tryna switch sides like your boy," she wrote.
Gauff's defeat in Miami marked a major upset for Linette, as she was the highest-ranked opponent the Pole had defeated on the WTA Tour.
Coco Gauff was seemingly disappointed by her performance following 2025 Miami Open exit
Coco Gauff appeared disappointed with her performance at the 2025 Miami Open. After the match, the American acknowledged that she hadn't been playing to her full potential since the previous week and felt awful on the court.
“It wasn’t great today. It hasn’t been the last few weeks -- I’m trying to figure that out. Definitely not happy about it. ... Just one of those days when I felt awful in everything on the court,” she said.
Gauff ended the 2024 season on a high note with titles at the WTA 1000 event in Beijing and the WTA Finals in Riyadh. However, she has struggled to replicate that success in 2025, suffering early exits in the tournaments mentioned earlier.
The American has a 13-5 win-loss record and is still searching for her first title of 2025.