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Coco Gauff was recently in Washington to compete in a women's invitational event at the Citi Open. The American was seen in action for the first time since contracting COVID-19 last month, which led to her pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics.
In the exhibition event, Gauff first breezed past Victoria Azarenka in straight sets before losing to compatriot Jessica Pegula. The teenager then sat down for some interviews, where she provided interesting answers to some quirky questions.
When asked which ATP player she would like to be friends with, Gauff was quick to name Nick Kyrgios.
"Definitely Nick Kyrgios. On court he's a super funny guy and off court super kind," said Gauff. "He probably doesn't know this but I first hit with him when I was 12 I believe at the Miami Open. He also played ping-pong with my brother back in the Citi Open last year."
What followed was a fun interaction between Gauff and Kyrgios. Responding to Gauff's comments, Kyrgios showered praise on the 17-year-old American, saying she would go on to achieve great things in the sport.
"Anytime. You are going to do great things in this sport and I can’t wait to watch. I got plenty more ping pong lessons as well," Kyrgios wrote on Twitter.
Kyrgios then went on to ask Gauff if she would like to play mixed doubles with him at the 2022 Australian Open, to which the American replied: "Let's make it happen".
Unsurprisingly, the interaction between Gauff and Kyrgios became the talk of Twitter-town as tennis fans rushed to show their support for the potential partnership. Some even came up with interesting team names.
Kyrgios recently teamed up with American legend Venus Williams at Wimbledon. The unlikely partnership proved to be entertaining, albeit unsuccessful. The duo won their opener before Kyrgios was forced to pull out of the tournament due to an abdominal injury.
Coco Gauff will return to competitive action in Montreal
Coco Gauff has had a stellar year so far, which includes winning a second career title in Parma and a run to her maiden Major quarterfinal at Roland Garros.
After being sidelined for nearly a month due to COVID-19, the World No. 25 will return to competitive action at the National Bank Open in Montreal next week. Seeded 15th, Gauff is slated to face Anastasija Sevastova in the first round.
