Coco Gauff has gone back-to-back after she claimed her family’s annual gingerbread house competition.
It seems that the US Open champion still knows how to claim the small victories, although some might question her sportsmanship after a slightly gloating celebration.
Gauff recently shown her talents away from the court, winning back-to-back titles in the famous Christmas Gingerbread House competition. The American announced her victory on social media, along with a photo of her sweet masterpiece.
Coco Gauff’s gingerbread skill has become a beloved tradition, with admirers anxiously anticipating her seasonal masterpieces each year.
“Back to back wins for me in the gingerbread competition 🎉 last year took the dub, and you know i had to run it back,” Coco Gauff shared in an Instagram post.
Coco also made fun of her younger brother, Codey Gauff, and taunted him about his house. Codey Gauff, a young tennis star, reportedly made an inventive gingerbread but lacked the polish of his sister’s masterpiece.
“Not the SOB house meaning standing on business 💀 they came in second so they indeed did not stand on business😂 @codeygauff @jaded_ace,” Coco Gauff teased her brother Codey.
Gauff is one of three Americans in the top 20 of the WTA Tour rankings joined by frequent doubles partner Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys.
Australian Open Chief Craif Tiley believes the strength of American tennis is good for the game as a whole.
“Well, look, we have been fortunate. We came through an era of having great champions, American champions. We have the U.S. players reaching the highest levels of the game. That’s why Coco Gauff is going to be so great for the sport. It is the commercial engine of the sport globally. So, I think that’s great for the sport, having more of that. I do see some light at the end of the tunnel with that,” Tiley said.
“That’s no disrespect, there is a lot of great European players, but the market in the US is just so much bigger, and I think that’s good for the sport globally,” he added.
Much has been made of Gauff’s improvement on the forehand, her clear and obvious weakness and Martina Navratilova says that aspect of her game will remain key.
Navratilova added: “The next step for Coco? What happens with the forehand? Will she start hitting more forehands down the line or rolling it crosscourt? Late in the season, I noticed she was hitting those loopy forehands more often. I really look forward to what [coach] Brad [Gilbert] tries to do — if he tries to change the forehand and her extreme western grip. Because when she was trying to hit low balls with her [existing grip] the ball sometimes was bouncing before it got to the net.
“I think that’s where the grip is so limiting — it’s physically impossible to get under the ball when it’s that low with that grip. Change it to make it a little bit easier to hit those low balls — or maybe she just learns to re-grip and use a slightly different stroke. One of those two things has to happen because it’s just too much of a handicap — she misses too many balls when they’re really low.”
