“She’s back” - Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens excited over Rihanna’s musical comeback
Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens shared their excitement over pop sensation Rihanna’s musical comeback after a six-year break. Both players shared a teaser clip of the track “Lift Me Up” on their Instagram stories.
Rihanna's first new single as a lead artist since 2016 is set to feature on the upcoming Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's soundtrack.
The 2017 US Open Stephens winner took to Instagram to express her excitement, writing:
“She’s back”
Stephens and Gauff’s love for music is well-known. In an interview with Spotify last year, the former spoke about her passion for music and how it kept her energized while she travels the world competing in various tournaments.
"I’m always on the go and music is a staple in my routine. When I’m getting ready, training, recovering, or traveling, there is always music playing from my phone. Since I travel all the time for my job and tennis is such a global sport, I’m constantly being introduced to new songs. I think it’s a great way to connect with people and learn about what’s popular in their culture. Even if you don’t speak the language somewhere, everyone can recognize a good song," Stephens said.
Gauff considers Rihanna one of her idols, alongside another music sensation Beyonce, and former American first lady Michelle Obama.
“Beyonce, Rihanna, Michelle Obama,” Gauff said, when asked about her idols outside tennis following her maiden Wimbledon triumph.
“More work to do but very grateful” – Coco Gauff on reaching WTA top 5 in both singles and doubles rankings
Coco Gauff became the first American teenager since Serena Williams 23 years ago to enter the top 5 of the WTA singles rankings. Along with her fellow American Jessica Pegula, she also broke into the doubles top 5, recreating Serena Williams and Venus Williams’s feat.
“Special feeling waking up Top 5 in the world in singles and doubles," she tweeted.
The American teenager also took to social media to express her gratitude towards the achievement.
“More work to do but very grateful," said Gauff.
While Gauff makes it look easy to compete in both singles and doubles categories, she threw some light on the challenges of playing both formats in a post-match press conference in Guadalajara recently.
"Usually I do two-a-days at home, to be honest. So I practice twice a day a lot. Usually the practices are harder than the matches, to be honest, at least physically. So I think I am just used to it. I think it all starts on the practice court. Then when you come out here, everything should feel routine," Coco Gauff said.
"So for me, especially doing this tournament to tournament, I think it's almost a routine. But it's always more complicated when my partner and I are playing on the same days because we have to wait for each other to finish or vice versa," she added.