Coco Gauff was all smiles on Thursday. (Image: Getty)
It seems now has an extra weapon in her armoury as she bids to win the for the first time. The American has started 2025 in stunning fashion, winning all five of her matches as Team USA claimed the United Cup, beating Poland in the final in Sydney.
But the tournament build-up for the world No.3 took a light-hearted turn on Thursday, as she teamed up with Andrey Rublev to take on Lleyton Hewitt and Daria Saville in a mixed doubles match.
The players all wore microphones for the exhibition clash, and as early as the third game Gauff decided she wanted to be taught something new.
“How do you grunt?” she asked Rublev, while preparing to serve. The Russian tried to be helpful with his response, replying with “I don’t know. Ehh? Bweh?” before Saville chipped in with: “It’s like Bwweehh.”
Gauff, 20, seemed happy with the help, vowing: “Ok, I’m gonna try that.” And sure enough, for the next few points she grunted loudly every time she made contact with a shot, as her playing partners followed suit.
Such was the volume of her efforts, at one point Rublev shouted “Alright! Here we go,” during a rally, shortly before he was presented with a forehand smash. As he was lining up the shot, Gauff cried: “You, don’t miss it. But where’s the grunt?”
Lleyton Hewitt and Daria Saville took on Coco Gauff and Andrey Rublev in an exhibition match (Image: Getty)
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Monica Seles is famed for being the first high-profile female player to grunt during shots, while Maria Sharapova was often lambasted for the noises she made on court. also raised the decibel levels on court.
The fun and games continued after the match for Gauff, after her and Rublev overcame their Australian opponents. After their victory, Andrea Petkovic accidentally revealed her opponent for the first round would be Sofia Kenin.
“I mean I just found out who I play,” she said, while laughing, which led to a grovelling apology from Petkovic. But unperturbed, Gauff said: “No, I don’t care. I just didn’t know. It’s a tough match for sure. She’s been playing great tennis.”
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The 2023 champion has arrived down under at the top of her game. In November, , becoming the first American to win the title since Serena herself in 2014.
The world No.3 beat along the way in Riyadh, before again . And she is being heavily touted as the main contender to prevent from winning a third straight title.