Gabby Thomas, Sha'Carri Richardson salute Coco Gauff after marathon Italian Open SF win

Coco Gauff earned a sublime win over Qinwen Zheng in the semifinals of the Italian Open following which she received congratulatory messages from American track and field stars Gabby Thomas and Sha'Carri Richardson. The champion runners, who were part of the American 4x100 women’s relay team that won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, hyped up Gauff on her latest social media post.

Gauff was up against a familiar opponent in Zheng, and a proper battle ensued. Gauff was the better player in the opening exchanges, and she wrapped up the first set 7-6 (3), only for Zheng to make a surging comeback.

The Chinese, seeded eighth, capitalized on Gauff’s numerous double faults as she pocketed the second set 6-4 to push the match to a deciding third set. In a gruelling match that lasted three and a half hours, it was Gauff who prevailed as she won the tie-break to secure a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (4) victory to advance into the final of the Italian Open.

Gauff is known to have friends across the American sporting world, and that was on display when Thomas and Richardson dropped messages of encouragement on her latest Instagram post. Thomas wrote:

“QUEEN”

Richardson, a former world champion and reigning Olympic silver medallist in the women’s 100m, added,

“YES COCO 🔥🔥🔥”

Screengrab of Gabby Thomas and Sha'Carri Richardson's comments on Coco Gauff's Instagram post. Source: Instagram @cocogauff

There was also a funny instance during the course of this match when Coco Gauff sent down a serve, without realizing that Zheng had gone to her kit to swap rackets. You can watch the video here.

---

Serena Williams’ former coach reveals the one aspect that helped Coco Gauff beat Qinwen Zheng

Coco Gauff celebrates her win over Qinwen Zheng at the Italian Open. Source: Getty

Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs noted that the key differentiator between Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng was how clinical they were at the net. Gauff was superb at the net and was able to finish off points with her sharp reflexes, which Stubbs attributed to her doubles career.

Stubbs wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

“Playing doubles help Coco win that game. Good reflexes and volley at the net. Zheng on the other hand didnt know what to do there. Can't believe she moved back to hit a backhand instead of forward to hit a volley. HUGE turning point there, especially with Coco serving issues.”

Having sealed this hard-fought win in three sets, Gauff will next face Italy’s very own Jasmine Paolini in the final of the Italian Open on Saturday, May 17.