“Dreams come true” – Coco Gauff’s mother Candi beams with pride after seeing daughter share spotlight with LeBron James as Paris Olympics flag-bearer

Coco Gauff’s mother, Candi, has expressed pride as her daughter had the honor of being the flag-bearer for the United States at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, a duty she performed with NBA star and two-time gold medalist LeBron James. The opening ceremony was held on Friday in Paris, and the various competitions have kicked off with the first round of tennis matches underway.

Not only is Gauff making her Olympic debut on the US tennis squad, but her teammates Emma Navarro, Desirae Krawczyk, and Danielle Collins are also making their Olympic debuts. Jessica Pegula is the only WTA star on the team with Olympic experience, having participated in the tournament in Tokyo in 2020. Gauff was already in the top 100 of the WTA rankings in 2020, but she couldn’t participate because she contracted COVID-19.

On Friday, Gauff’s mother shared a picture featuring her daughter and LeBron James on board a boat on the Seine River. In the caption, she expressed her pride as the 20-year-old was in the spotlight with the basketball legend.

In her debut campaign at the Olympic Games, Coco Gauff will participate in singles, doubles and mixed doubles categories. Gauff will begin her quest for singles gold on Sunday (July 27) when she faces Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round of the 2024 Paris Olympics. This match marks the first time Gauff and Tomljanovic will face each other in their careers.

In the doubles category, the 20-year-old will partner with Jessica Pegula to face the Australian duo Daria Saville and Ellen Perez in their first-round clash. She will team up with Taylor Fritz to play mixed doubles.

The Olympic Games may be different from regular WTA tournaments, but Gauff is competing in familiar territory as she has an impressive record on the clay courts of Paris. This season, Gauff reached the semifinal of the French Open, where she was knocked out by eventual champion Iga Swiatek. In the doubles category, she clinched her first Grand Slam when she partnered with Kateřina Siniaková to defeat the Italian duo Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the final.Coco Gauff has had an amazing 2024 season so far. She won the ASB Classic back in January by defeating Elina Svitolina in the final. She also had semifinal finishes at the Australian Open, the French Open, the Italian Open, the Indian Wells Masters, and the Grass Court Championships in Berlin.