Coco Gauff receives special gift from Sabrina Ionescu & touching message from Breanna Stewart during memorable WNBA outing

Coco Gauff is taking a well-deserved break following her triumph at the 2025 French Open. Gauff was in the stands to watch the New York Liberty square off against the Chicago Sky at the Barclays Center in New York on Tuesday night (June 10).

She sat beside the family of the late Kobe Bryant. When the Jumbotron focused on her, the stadium erupted in applause and cheers. The young American acknowledged the crowd and seemed touched by the overwhelming support.

She also took a quick selfie with Ellie the Elephant, the adorable mascot of the New York Liberty. Following the game, she received a custom jersey from Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu.

Expand Tweet

Breanna Stewart also had nothing but praise for Gauff during her post-game conference. She called her an inspiration to all and hoped that she would return to watch them in the future. She added that the presence of athletes like her is a source of motivation.

"I thought it was incredible for it to get so loud for her. She said it was her first WNBA game. For it to be a Liberty game is really special for us. Really just saying congratulations on all her success most recently, and we're happy to have her. Hopefully she'll come back and she's an inspiration to everyone and it's motivating to have people like that on the sidelines coming here to watch us doing our thing."

Expand Tweet

Gauff's break from tennis isn't going to last long. She won the French Open on Sunday, June 8, and will return for the grass swing next week in Berlin, Germany.

Coco Gauff to kick off her grass season at the Berlin Tennis Open

Coco Gauff at the French Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Coco Gauff's grass swing will get underway at the Berlin Tennis Open, a WTA 500 tournament. It will take place from June 16-22. It will be her only tournament in the lead-up to Wimbledon.

The tournament has a stacked draw, with everyone in the top 15 except for Iga Swiatek being in the mix. Gauff will receive a first-round bye as one of the top four seeds.

This will be Gauff's fourth appearance in Berlin. She advanced to the semifinals on her debut in 2022 and again last year. She will aim to capitalize on her momentum and capture her maiden title on grass.

About the author

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for three years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

Know More

Edited by Rohit