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Coco Gauff's hard-fought win over Zheng Qinwen in the women's singles semifinals of the 2025 Italian Open prompted track and field superstar Noah Lyles to applaud his younger compatriot. Gauff is now set to challenge for the prestigious claycourt title in Rome on Saturday, May 17.
On Thursday, May 15, Gauff clashed against Zheng on the Center Court of the iconic Foro Italico tennis complex in the Italian capital. The American registered a 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4) victory in three hours and thirty minutes to reach the final of the event's WTA 1000 tournament. It took a Herculean effort from Gauff to get over the line against Zheng, and she later took to Instagram and shared a proud post, captioning it:
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"3 hours and 30 mins , past midnight finish, all heart❤️🔥"
Several high-profile athletes commented on Coco Gauff's Instagram post, and Olympic gold medal winner and six-time World champion Noah Lyles was among them. Lyles' comment didn't consist of any words. Instead, the 27-year-old's comment featured four clapping emojis.
In the final, Gauff will lock horns with home favorite Jasmine Paolini. The American has a 2-1 win-loss record against the Italian, but lost the last time they faced each other at this year's Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
The WTA No. 3, who is soon set to climb up to No. 2 thanks to her performances at the Italian Open, represented the USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as did Lyles. Here, the two interacted, with Gauff later speaking up about the conversation the two shared in the French capital.
"Saw me as a 400 hurdler" - Coco Gauff on exchange with Noah Lyles at Paris Olympics 2024
In 2024, Coco Gauff made her Olympics debut in Paris, and she got to spend time there with compatriot Noah Lyles. After returning from the prestigious Games, Gauff competed at the National Bank Open in Toronto. Here, she opened up on her experience of talking to Lyles in the French capital.
"Noah Lyles said he saw me as a 400 hurdler, but I'm kind of scared of hurdles, so I don't think I would have been like that. But definitely 400 or longer would have been my thing," Gauff said.
If Gauff manages to beat Paolini in the women's singles final at the 2025 Italian Open, it would mark her third WTA 1000-level title triumph and 10th singles title overall.
