Coco Gauff in high spirits as she arrives at Roland Garros for Paris Olympics 2024
Coco Gauff has arrived in Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games and she has already taken to the Roland Garros courts. Just hours after showing off her USA-themed nail art, the 20-year-old visited the stadium where she will make her first-ever Olympics appearance.
World No. 2 Gauff is part of the US tennis contingent along with Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, Emma Navarro, and Desirae Krawczyk in the women's team. The men's team consists of Taylor Fritz, Chris Eubanks, Marcos Giron, Tommy Paul, Rajeev Ram, and Austin Krajicek.
The 20-year-old missed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to a positive covid test. In 2024, she will enter her first Olympics event as the second seed.
She flaunted her USA-themed braids and nail art on her Instagram Story. Her teammate Danielle Collins and Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu have also previously displayed similar nationality-themed nail art.
Just hours later, Gauff posted an image of herself on the Roland Garros courts. The American has arrived in Paris in high spirits and is raring to go.
Coco Gauff hopes to carry 'friend' and 'mentor' Serena Williams' legacy into Olympics debut
At 17, Coco Gauff was part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics USA contingent but her debut was delayed by three years. Now 20, Gauff is ready to help Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
She wrote a letter to her 17-year-old self and detailed her 'delayed Olympic journey' and 'her growth as a player'. She mentioned how she hopes to carry the legacy of her 'friend' and 'mentor' Serena Williams into her debut.
"Serena [Williams] was once just a stranger printed on a poster hanging in your room, and now you still can’t believe she’s a friend and mentor. Her profound impact on tennis, what it means to be a champion and to break barriers is a legacy you hope to uphold and carry with you into your first Olympic Games," Coco Gauff wrote in a letter posted on NBC.
Williams won four Olympic gold medals - one in singles and three in women's doubles along with sister Venus Williams.
During the 2024 Australian Open, Gauff had mentioned that she wrote down a 'vision note' on her phone about her aim to win a medal at the Olympics. She referred to the vision note in her letter and wrote:
"In your phone under your vision notes, you wrote that you want to win a medal at the Olympics. Gold, silver, bronze – it doesn’t matter."
"But you’ve already won, you’ve made your childhood dream of playing at the Olympics, representing the United States, a real reality. And now, finally, you get to enjoy it," she added.
Gauff had previously also expressed a desire to play in all the tennis events at the Olympics. She will be playing in the women's singles and doubles along with Jessica Pegula. However, the mixed doubles pairings are still unknown.