Coco Gauff just shared the kind of confession that’ll make anyone double-check their DMs. Gauff is one of the biggest names on the women's side when it comes to tennis, and on the men's side, one of the biggest is Carlos Alcaraz. But before he won the US Open in 2022, he was just a dude she didn't remember.
In a recent interview with the Bleacher Report, the 20-year-old tennis star opened up about ghosting Alcaraz years before he became globally recognized. The outlet asked her what the funniest DM she has ever received was when she revealed, “I think I did well at Wimbledon in 2019, and Alcaraz actually DMed me saying ‘Hey Coco, do you remember me?’” she said. “Because we apparently won the Junior Fed Cup at the same time, both our countries. And I didn’t remember him, so I didn’t respond.”
At the time, Gauff had just burst onto the scene at Wimbledon, famously defeating Venus Williams at just 15 years old. Alcaraz, meanwhile, was still relatively unknown outside of the junior circuit. But that changed in a big way in 2022 when he was a powerhouse at the US Open and beat Casper Ruud in four sets to win his first Grand Slam title.
At 19, he became the youngest man to win the tournament since Pete Sampras in 1990 and the youngest-ever world No. 1 in ATP history. Once Alcaraz made headlines worldwide, Gauff remembered the missed DM. “I DMed him congratulations,” she said, laughing. “But if you look at our DMs, our spread is like, ‘Hey, do you remember me?’ and me DMing him congratulations. I felt bad that I didn’t respond.”
To be fair, Gauff has been a little busy herself. She went on to win the 2023 US Open, becoming the youngest American woman to do so since Serena Williams in 1999.
Now, both she and Alcaraz are young Grand Slam champs at the top of their game and are both competing in the French Open. Alcaraz beat Fabian Marozsan to reach the third round and will compete against Damir Džumhur on Friday, May 30.
As for Gauff, she beat Olivia Gadecki and will compete against Tereza Valentova for her second-round match on Thursday, May 29.