"Wimbledon was probably the last time I will ever see him in my box"- Coco Gauff on her dad's superstitions when she plays
World No. 4 Coco Gauff's recent comments on her father's superstitions left the crowd at the Australian Open's Rod Laver Arena in splits. During her on-court interview after her fourth-round win over Poland's Magdalena Frech, the reigning US Open champion was asked about her father Corey Gauff's superstitious behaviour.
Corey used to cheer for his daughter from the player's box during her early days as a tennis professional. However, during the US Open quarterfinals last year, he was not seen in the stadium. Gauff later explained that her dad was doing laps around the stadium to calm his nerves.
"Wimbledon was probably the last time I will ever see him in my box," Gauff said during the interview. "Yeah I mean I am not superstitious at all (but) he's incredibly superstitious," she said.
Jelena Dokic, a former tennis player who conducted the on-court interview, told Gauff that Corey wasn't in the player's box. She recalled that Corey had been superstitious during her 2023 US Open campaign as well.
"Yeah my dad is here, don't know where but he is here somewhere. My mom does better holding her nerves in the box," Gauff quipped.
Gauff said that Corey has been repeating the pattern after her successful US Open campaign last year. She said that her father always sits in the stands these days and as a result she is not able to locate him during matches.
"If you guys see him tell him I said hello and I will see him after the match," Coco Gauff to fans after Australian Open 4R win
Coco Gauff also asked fans to tell Corey that she would meet him after the match.
"If you guys see him tell him I said hello and I will see him after the match," Gauff said.
Gauff later told the media about how her relationship with her father has changed over the years. Incidentally, the father and daughter have had their fair share of quarrels on the tennis court.
"So my dad you know sometimes says some words that I can't say right here and then I hear him and I get mad so um we agreed so that he can go say them somewhere else around here," Gauff said.