"The best dad ever" - Coco Gauff, Maria Sharapova, Leylah Fernandez & tennis world wish the men in their lives a happy Father's Day
Coco Gauff, Maria Sharapova, Leylah Fernandez, and other tennis stars wished the men in their lives a happy Father's Day. American star Coco Gauff referred to her dad as the best dad ever, while others shared adorable messages expressing their love for the men in their lives.
With the grass-court season already underway and the 2024 Summer Olympics fast approaching, tennis stars around the world took time to celebrate their fathers and husbands on Father's Day, June 16, 2024.
The 20-year-old American posted two images on her Instagram story: one was a picture she took with her dad, Corey Gauff, and the other was a picture of him posing with a wall portrait of her.
“Happy Father's Day to the best dad ever I love you so much! @coreygauff” - She captioned the post
Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova also celebrated her fiancé, Alexander Gilkes, via a post on her Instagram story. The picture featured the businessman and their son, Theodore, tending to a flower.
“Papa bear, we love you” - She captioned
World No. 33 Leylah Fernandez and Marta Kostyuk also shared pictures of their dads. The Canadian posted both recent and throwback photos of cute family moments with her father, while Kostyuk posted a picture of her and her father taken at her wedding to Hryhoriy.
Coco Gauff reveals Dad's superstition keeps him out of player's box
In a post-match interview at the 2024 Australian Open, Gauff revealed that her father Corey is incredibly superstitious, so he doesn't stay in her box during matches. She added that her mother does better at keeping her cool.
“Wimbledon was probably the last time I will ever see him in my box. Yeah I mean I am not superstitious at all (but) he's incredibly superstitious," she said "Yeah my dad is here, don't know where but he is here somewhere. My mom does better holding her nerves in the box," she added.
A few months later, in April, the 20-year-old opened up in an interview with TIME magazine about her dad's reaction during matches, saying:
“My dad, he doesn’t give the best reactions in the box. He’s a very emotional person. Sometimes when I lose a point, the first thing I look at is the box and there’s something more reassuring seeing somebody clapping, Sometimes he has to take a lot of bullets.” Coco Gauff said
Gauff is gearing up to kick off her grass court season on Tuesday when she partners with compatriot Jessica Pegula against the Czech pair Kateřina Siniaková and Linda Nosková in the first round of the 2024 Berlin Ladies Open.