Outspoken Christian and Tennis star Coco Gauff recently had the honor of carrying the American flag on behalf of the United States at the Olympic Games in Paris. At just 20 years old, Gauff has been a standout star in the world of tennis while simultaneously voicing her Christian faith.
“The 20-year-old tennis champion has been picked as the female flagbearer during the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the Paris Games on July 26 — an honor that puts her in the history books as the first U.S. tennis player to be a flagbearer for Team USA,” according to a recent report from PEOPLE.
At the opening ceremony, Gauff joined 21-year NBA veteran LeBron James in carrying the Red, White, and Blue. “I was completely shocked,” the tennis star said on a recent appearance on the TODAY show. “I never would have crossed my mind. I have no words, honestly.”
She continued, “It made me cry. I didn’t want to cry in front of my teammates…but when I called my mom, I started crying. I think it’s even more special — even now I get emotional thinking about it — that so many incredible people just think that I’m worthy of this. It means a lot, truly.”
Prior to the ceremony, Gauff had never met James, but anticipated meeting him in person.“He DM’ed me once on Instagram with words of encouragement and congratulations but I’ve never actually met him,” she explained. “I’ve seen him in person at a bunch of Miami Heat games when I was a kid, and some recent games. But I’ve never actually met him. So this is a cool circumstance to be meeting him and I guess I’ll actually get to know him a little bit.”
Tennis star Chirs Eubanks previously nominated Gauff to be a flagbearer at the ceremony. “I’m incredibly proud of Coco — I know how great she is as a tennis player, but more importantly, how great she is as a person,” he said. “I don’t think there is anyone more deserving of this honor and I’m excited to see her carry the flag as she leads our U.S. delegation in the opening ceremony.”
The Christian Tribune previously reported on the news that Gauff would be competing at the Paris Olympics. “The women’s team is made up of singles world No. 2 Gauff, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 11 Danielle Collins, No. 17 Emma Navarro, and doubles No. 11 Desirae Krawczyk, and will be coached by Kathy Rinaldi, the USTA’s head of women’s tennis. Gauff, Pegula, Collins and Navarro will play singles, while Gauff and Pegula, and Collins and Krawczyk, will play doubles,” according to a prior statement from the U.S. Tennis Association.
“I don’t pray for results. I just ask that I get the strength to give it my all. Whatever happens, happens. I’m so blessed in this life,” she said, illustrating her faith. Gauff also stated how she has remained steadfast in her faith despite her struggles. “That French Open loss was a heartbreak. I realized God puts you through trials. This makes this moment even sweeter than I could imagine,” she said.
Featured image credit: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coco_Gauff_2023_DC_Open_01_cropped.jpg