World No.11 Coco Gauff took some time out of her hard-court preparation to take part in an exhibition event at the Atlanta Open, an ATP 250 event held in Atlantic Station.
The 18-year-old faced compatriot and Atlanta resident Taylor Townsend in the first of two exhibition matches on Sunday night. Gauff prevailed 6-3 6-3 in an exciting yet wholesome atmosphere.
"I think it was a great performance," said Gauff. "Had a lot of fun, wasn't sure how it was going to be tonight. Taylor made it super fun. These matches have to be with the right person and I think Taylor was the right person."
In front of a packed stadium, Gauff and Townsend wowed the crowd with their shot-making. Inspiration was the theme of the night, as Gauff debuted a new pair of New Balance shoes that bore a phrase that Gauff has held dear to her heart: "You can change the world with your racket."
"Since I was younger, my dad told me I could change the world with my racquet," Gauff said at the French Open this spring, where, after winning her semifinal match, she signed the camera 'Peace. End gun violence'.
"He didn't mean that by just playing tennis. He meant speaking out on issues like this. The first thing my dad said to me after I got off court was, 'I'm proud of you and I love what you wrote on the camera.' I think my parents support me when talking about issues like this."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.