"Very unusual, cold" - Coco Gauff & Iga Swiatek's handshake in United Cup final draws interesting reaction from tennis insider
Tennis insider Jose Morgado shared his thoughts after witnessing a “cold” handshake between Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek following the Pole’s defeat in the United Cup final. Gauff, alongside Taylor Fritz from Team USA, faced off against Team Poland’s Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz in the final.
On Sunday, January 5, Coco Gauff secured a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Swiatek, giving Team USA a 1-0 lead over Team Poland. Later in the day, Fritz triumphed in a thrilling match, winning 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4) against Hurkacz. His win helped the United States claim their second United Cup title, following their 2023 victory over Italy.
Morgado shared a clip on X (formerly Twitter) showing the handshake between Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff after the latter’s unique ‘digging’ celebration following the match point.
He commented:
“A very unusual cold handshake from Iga Swiatek.”
Coco Gauff calls herself the 'best player in the world' after defeating Iga Swiatek
After securing a victory in the 2025 United Cup final against Poland’s Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff expressed her confidence in her place among the world’s top tennis players. Reflecting on the match, she acknowledged the challenge and touched on its importance for Team USA's lead against Poland.
“I think I have the belief now that I’m one of the best players in the world. I think I played great tennis. I’m happy to get a point on board for team USA. It was tough today, I’m not gonna lie,” Gauff said during her on-court interview.
She also expressed her gratitude to the American fans for their support amid the large Polish crowd:
“There’s a lot of Polish fans. I appreciate the atmosphere. Thank you to the US fans. Especially the ones up here that were carrying.”
The American then mentioned that she did her best to help her team get a lead, adding:
“I realized the worst thing that can happen today is I lose. In this type of format, even if I lose we still have r a chance to win. I just said ‘I’m gonna give my best effort’ and I think that’s all the team can ask of me.”
"It's great to win a team event, the only team event I've ever won, so I'm super excited,” she continued.