Coco Gauff picks Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios and others for her NFL dream team
World No. 7 Coco Gauff on Sunday made a special appearance at the Hard Rock Stadium, donning a Miami Dolphins jersey and cheering the side to a win in the National Football League.
The American also took a moment to enlist some of her fellow tennis players into her "dream" NFL team — starting with none other than 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. Gauff picked Nadal as the quarterback for her side, attributing the choice to the Spaniard's ability to make the right plays at the right time.
The youngster then picked two of her close friends from the ATP tour — Aussie Nick Krygios and countryman Frances Tiafoe, to cover the back line of the team's defense.
"I don't know if I can name enough for a whole team, but I'll do like the main positions. Quarterback, I'm gonna go with Rafael Nadal, because I feel like he makes the right plays at the right time," Coco Gauff said.
"Who else would I add on my team for team? I'm gonna go with Nick Kyrgios. I have never see him throw a football or like running a football, so I don't know. But now I think we need a big guy, tennis doesn't have big bodies, but I'm go with Frances Tiafoe," she added.
Appointing herself as the coach for the side, the American then joked that she needed someone on the team to keep her "calm". The 18-year-old then went on to draft former doubles partner Caty McNally to take on the task.
"In the end, I think I need somebody that's gonna like, keep me calm, because I'm not gonna be on the field, I'm gonna be the coach. So I think I'm gonna go to Caty McNally to do that," Coco Gauff joked.
The Hard Rock Stadium, for tennis fans, is better known as the venue for the combined ATP and WTA 1000 tournament of the Miami Open — one half of the Sunshine Double alongside the BNP Paribas Open played in Indian Wells. The stadium, however, also doubles up as the home venue for the Miami Dolphins football team.
Coco Gauff meets Jaylen Waddle at Hard Rock Stadium
From cheering on her fellow South Floridians to picking her dream team, Coco Gauff had quite a busy day at the Hard Rock Stadium. She, however, did manage to make time for a quick meet-and-greet with one of her favorite members of the Miami Dolphins squad — Jaylen Waddle.
The youngster was also spotted holding the microphone and leading the "Let's go Dolphins cheer" at the stadium while standing right next to the team's mascot.