"Coco Gauff texted me this morning, she texted me after my match; it's not only on the court, it's an off-the-court thing too" - Caty McNally on her friendship with the teenager

Caty McNally recently revealed that she and former doubles partner Coco Gauff are still very good friends despite parting ways as a team.

McNally and Gauff played doubles together from 2019 to the end of 2021, winning three titles and finishing runner-up at the 2021 US Open.

Gauff, however, now plays doubles alongside Jessica Pegula, with whom she recently won the Canadian Open to climb to the No. 1 position in the discipline.

McNally was asked for her thoughts on Gauff's feat following her first-round win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Monday. Speaking to the press, the 20-year-old revealed that she congratulated the teenager on accomplishing the milestone.

"I thought it was incredible. Yeah, no, I reached out to Coco and congratulated her on that milestone," Caty McNally said. "I honestly didn't know, like, that match like if she won it she was going to get World No. 1."

McNally insisted that she and Gauff share a "great friendship" despite parting ways and added that they still "support each other" whenever needed.

"Coco and I, yeah, like we are not playing right now, as everyone has probably seen, but we still have a great friendship," McNally added. "I still consider her one of my best friends on tour. We still support each other through the ups and downs."

The older American highlighted the 18-year-old Gauff's exemplary off-court behavior, citing how the latter still texts her before and after a match to wish her well.

"She texted me this morning, 'Good luck'. She texted me after my match, 'Congratulations'. No matter what, yeah, Coco, it's not only on the court; it's an off-the-court thing too."

"Being No. 1 is pretty cool" - Coco Gauff after her Canadian Open triumph

Coco Gauff, after winning the 2022 National Bank Open in Toronto

Coco Gauff rose to the top of the women's doubles rankings after she and her partner Jessica Pegula defeated Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez 6-4, 6-7 (5), 10-5 in Sunday's Canadian Open final.

At 18 years and 154 days old, Gauff became the second-youngest player in WTA history to reach the top of the doubles rankings. Martina Hingis, who achieved the feat at 17 years and 251 days old, still holds the record.

Speaking to the media after claiming the title, Gauff labeled the feat as "pretty cool," claiming she was unaware that she could scale the top spot until Pegula informed her.

"Being No. 1 is pretty cool," Coco Gauff said. "I have no words. I didn't really know it was coming this week and what I had to do, but (Pegula) told me yesterday. It didn't make me more nervous though. I think if it was singles, I would have been more nervous."