The City of Lights couldn’t outshine Coco Gauff on Sunday, when she illuminated Phillipe-Chatrier Court in her Olympic singles debut. The top American emerged triumphant in her first-round match against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-3, 6-0.
Gauff sorted Tomlanjovic in a sharp 57 minutes and converted six out of nine break point opportunities on her way to Round 2. The people of Paris were behind Gauff and could be heard cheering, “Coco!” between points.
Gauff’s Olympic debut has been long-awaited, as she had to withdraw days before the Tokyo Games kicked off due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
While Gauff remained composed on the court, in the months and weeks leading up to her first Olympic Games, the 2023 U.S. Open Champion has shared her excitement about her first Olympic Games in interviews, on social media and even in an exclusive letter she penned for NBC Olympics.
“In your phone under your vision notes, you wrote that you want to win a medal at the Olympics. Gold, silver, bronze – it doesn’t matter,” Gauff wrote for NBCOlympics.com going into the Paris Games. “But you’ve already won, you’ve made your childhood dream of playing at the Olympics, representing the United States, a real reality. And now, finally, you get to enjoy it.”
Before Gauff hit the Olympic tennis courts, she served as the U.S. female flag bearer at the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, and became the youngest American ever to hold the honor.
Gauff will next face Argentina’s Lourdes Carle in her Round 2 match.