While they might be rivals on the court, off the court many of the so-called new generation of WTA stars are friends and that includes a new budding friendship in
Eva Lys and
Coco Gauff.
As others posted on social media, imagine walking the streets and you stumble onto the current French Open champion and the rising German star. Albeit Lys was hilariously on photo duty as she took pictures of a group of Frenchman with Gauff and joked that she used Spanish in talking to them at the
Madrid Open.
But both decided while they went on their night outs to film TikTok videos together posted on Gauff's TikTok. They have faced off once in their career at the end of last year won by Gauff 6-3, 6-4. Gauff will play on Thursday while Lys plays on Wednesday.
This comes after Gauff confirmed that they'd got to know each other during recent months on the tour. It is a big group of WTA stars who all seem to be friends including Alex Eala, Zeynep Sonmez, Victoria Mboko among others of all similar ages who despite being rivals up the top end of the sport are friends off it.
“Yeah, Eva Lys is a great player, great person,” Gauff said in her
press conference in Stuttgart after practicing with her.. “Someone I got to know over the course since Australian Open. That’s been really cool. It’s our first time practicing together. Yeah, I think she’s a great player.
Lys winning fans on and off the court
“One thing I noticed today, she holds the baseline really well. She stands really close. Doesn’t really miss a lot from it. Strokes are super clean. She has a lot of potential.
“I think the main thing is making sure she stays healthy. But yeah, I think she can beat anyone on any given day. I think she’s proven that with her run in Australia, also United Cup. She had a pretty good United Cup, too.
“I think once she’s healthy and finds her form, we’ll see her in the top of the rankings for sure.”
Lys herself responded in kind as to whether it was a strength of her play. "Definitely. I feel like my court position is a strength in general,” responded Lys. “This is something I really try to work on a lot.
Eva Lys in press conference during Billie Jean King Cup play-offs
“Especially hitting with big players like Coco, I find it very hard to keep the position, so every time I get an opportunity and possibility to play or practice with players like that, it definitely helps my game.
“So for clay, this is one comment I get from so many players, How the hell are you staying that close to the, yeah, to the baseline?
“I have been playing like that my whole life. I feel like that’s also a reason why I feel very comfortable on hard court and on clay, because I also grew up on clay, and this is my way of playing. So I’m definitely trying to work on the strengths I have on that surface.”