Coco Gauff feels the love as she receives thunderous welcome in New York, joins Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa at WNBA game after French Open win

Coco Gauff received a massive shout-out at the WNBA match-up between the New York Liberty and the Chicago Sky at Barclays Center on Monday night, as she joined Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa. Gauff was fresh off lifting her first French Open title in Paris, beating 2024 US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.

Coco Gauff was just an inch away from winning the Italian Open title when Jasmine Paolini emerged as the champion in the lead-up to the French Open. Fresh off the narrow loss, she took the court at the French Open, moving past rivals until meeting World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the finals. Losing in the first set, Gauff proved her prowess in the following two sets despite harsh windy conditions at Philippe Chatrier.

Basking in the glory of her remarkable achievement, the two-time Grand Slam champion graced the Barclays Center to watch the match-up between the Chicago Sky and the New York Liberty. Mid-game, the camera turned to her, and she received a massive shout-out, making fans go wild.

Here's the official WNBA X post, captioned:

"The New York crowd goes absolutely CRAZY for 2x Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff"

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The 21-year-old expressed gratitude to New York for showering her with love that she had never felt outside of the tennis court.

"man… thank you new york for all of that love. never felt so seen outside the tennis court. I appreciate you all," she posted on X.

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She also posted the same in her Instagram story and wrote:

"This was insane.. Thank you all"

Gauff reacts to cheer at WNBA arena; Instagram - @cocogauff

Gauff joined the likes of Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa as they posed together at the arena.

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Gauff's recent achievement at the French Open was the first for an American woman since Serena Williams in 2015, when she defeated Lucie Safarova.

Coco Gauff hilariously opened up about the disadvantages of letting winners party after the tournament

Gauff at the French Open winner Coco Gauff photocall in Paris - (Source: Getty)

Coco Gauff took a bottle of champagne home with a miniature version of the French Open trophy. She partied after that and even sang 'Lost' by Frank Ocean out loud in a red-lit and people-filled room. But the following day, she recalled the night in a hungover state and hilariously noted that winners of any sporting event should be barred from going out.

"Going out after winning a sporting event should be illegal. You're emotional, dehydrated, starving, and then they put champagne in my hand... of course I'm going out bad. I had fun tho, we up," she said in a video shared on TikTok.

Gauff was in title contention at the 2022 French Open and won her first Grand Slam at the 2023 US Open.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder