Coco Gauff says mystery friend will join her at summer tournaments

Coco Gauff could have an extra special cheering team during her upcoming hard court season.

The tennis star, 20, has been dating her current boyfriend – whose identity Gauff has kept private until now – for more than a year, but that could all change.

“My friend, he’ll probably come to some tournaments in the US,” Gauff said People this week.

Gauff is currently preparing for Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, July 1 at London’s All England Club. Her partner will join her in the United States instead of making the trek abroad.

Related: Everything We Know About Tennis Star Coco Gauff’s Mysterious Boyfriend

Despite her rise to fame, tennis superstar Coco Gauff continues to do her best to keep her boyfriend’s identity a mystery. Gauff, the defending US Open champion who won her first Grand Slam doubles title in June, has preached the importance of keeping her off-court life private. Yet that does not mean (…)

“It’s just a little bit easier than coming to Europe,” Gauff said.

Gauff’s boyfriend will also not be present when she competes at the 2024 Summer Olympics next month for similar reasons.

“I’m thinking about my mom and dad right now because it’s in Paris,” Gauff said of her Olympic support system. “It’s far from home.”

After qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Gauff was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.

“Fingers crossed that nothing else happens to me at the last minute!” she added. “But I’m really happy that I have a chance at a medal. Every time I see someone else with a gold medal, I want one so badly.”

Once she returns to the United States, her boyfriend will have the opportunity to join her for the summer hard court season, which kicks off on July 29 at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, DC.

From there, it’s full steam ahead to the 2024 US Open in New York, where Gauff will attempt to defend her singles title. The tournament begins on August 26.

Gauff’s boyfriend played a key role the night before the US Open women’s final last year — albeit from a distance.

“I just called my boyfriend and told him we need to talk until it’s time to go to sleep,” Gauff told reporters after winning the tournament, “so we talked until 1 a.m. and then I went to sleep.”

Although Gauff has kept things private for now, she has dropped some hints about her boyfriend in recent months.

“He’s a really nice guy. He’s in school now,” she said. Fashion in March. ‘He’s about to apply to music school. He wants to be an actor and he plays guitar.’

Gauff went on to explain how dating someone outside her bubble has worked wonders. As she said TIME magazine in April: “It gives me a fresh perspective to have someone to talk to who has nothing to do with tennis at all.”