Coco Gauff is relishing her victory.
Ahead of her first match at next week’s U.S. Open, Gauff just scored a win at the Cincinnati Open against Marta Kostyuk in the quarterfinals.
She later beat Jessica Pegula in the finals, making it her second title in the competition after winning back in 2023.
Of course, one way Gauff celebrated this year’s victory was by acknowledging the audience.
In her Aug. 21 interview on the court after beating Kostyuk, she actually had a flirtatious moment with someone in the crowd who had been cleverly chanting her name during the match.
Gauff focused on the male interviewer when he asked her, “What is it about these kinds of tournaments that bring out the best in you?”
But as soon as she responded, her face lit up. “Um, definitely playing in front of this home crowd,” she said while smiling ear to ear.
The crowd roared, and Gauff took a beat before continuing her answer.
“Yeah. I don’t know who was saying ‘I’m in love with the coco,’ but I like that one. That was a good one,” she said as she pointed at someone off camera in the stands and the crowd roared in response,.
“And it’s the right coco, so,” she cheekily added.
Coco Gauff to the crowd after beating Kostyuk in Cincinnati
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 22, 2026
“I don’t know who was saying ‘I’m in love with the Coco,’ but I like that one. That was a good one. And it’s the right Coco!”
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/Wp0cjVzCgD
The phrase comes from the 2014 song “CoCo,” by California artist O.T. Genasis.
On the original chorus, he sings “I’m in love with the coco,” which is short for cocaine.
Gauff giggled so much that she had to cover her face with her hands and eventually tell the interviewer to move on to the next question.
“You’re making me blush,” the interviewer said off camera before the clip ended.
Fans in the comments shared the joke along with Gauff and got a kick out of watching her squirm.
One of them wrote, “That white man laughed but had no idea what she was referring to.”
Another person who noted Gauff holding back said, “I love that she stopped herself before explaining it. She knows who she was talking to.”
A third person spoke highly of her personality. They said, “She is so darn cutesy aside from being CRAZY TALENTED omg.”
A fourth typed, “She’s so beautiful and intelligent. Just enjoy watching her play so muc Super dedicated athlete.”
This isn’t the first time she showed love to her fans during this particular tournament.
Earlier this month, an Atlanta resident by the name of Roberta Eaton — who is a dedicated tennis fan — was surprised with tickets to the Cincinnati Open to celebrate her 80th birthday.
Her daughter, N’Jeri Eaton, was initially looking into getting tickets to the U.S. Open in New York, but after reviewing the cost, she turned to Threads for help.
That’s when a Threads user suggested N’Jeri look into smaller tournaments where it’s cheaper and she can get better seats.
They surprised Roberta with the tickets by hiding them in a Gauff-themed Wheaties box.
Roberta’s been a huge fan of tennis since she was in her 20s and has made it a point to watch all of Gauff’s games since she lost to Naomi Osaka in the 2019 U.S. Open.
Another woman by the name Kate became invested in the story after N’Jeri posted it online, and when she spotted Roberta at the match, she invited her and N’Jeri’s cousin to sit with them in the premium section.
After the match, they called out to Gauff, who ran over and embraced them.
The meeting made Roberta emotional.
She told Atlanta Black Star, “Meeting Coco was like…was just pure joy. And my heart was just… I mean, it was just pumping. It was just pumping a mile a minute.”
Gauff later posted photos from the interaction and wrote, “Glad I was able to meet her! So happy I could bring her a little bit of joy, her spirit is everything! God bless! I hope I look like her when I ‘m 80, I thought the shirt was a lie haha. She’s gorgeous!”
Roberta said the trip brought her immediate relief as she had put her own joy and needs to the side to care for her husband. She’s been tending to him since January 2025, as he battled sepsis and later suffered a brain injury.
