“I will remember this day for the rest of my life.” Gauff on her selection as a US team leader to Paris 2024

After years of waiting, the Opening Ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France are just a day away. As the athletes sail down the Seine, the games will officially be underway with each nation selecting athletes to be flag-bearers, a long-standing Opening Ceremonies tradition.

While sometimes the flag-bearers for Team USA are athletes who are fantastic but play lesser-known sports, this is not the case this year. The Team USA Olympians vote for an athlete(s) to be the flag-bearer(s) and each Olympian votes on those nominees, with this year’s picks being basketball’s LeBron James and tennis star Coco Gauff.

LeBron is one of the most well-known athletes on earth, perhaps only behind Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kylian Mbappe. This is his fourth Olympic Games, and he’s looking for third gold medal to put him in elite territory among men’s basketball players.

Meanwhile, this is Coco Gauff’s first Olympic Games. The 20-year-old and defending U.S. Open Champion is ranked 2nd in the world and looks to be a worthy heir to Serena Williams’ throne in American tennis. She’s absolutely fantastic, and I think even casual sports fans have heard her name before.

Still, I think many were surprised when a first-time Olympian like her voted to be a flag-bearer. Count Coco Gauff among those surprised.

So many people came up to congratulate me and even some of the people on Team USA who, I guess, voted for me, but (I) didn’t even know they’re like, Yeah, we were one of the people who, you know, nominated you and, and we couldn’t have asked for a better person. And it just means a lot. I was very emotional when I was talking to my mom about it. And yeah, I did cry. I went to cry but I found out my whole team was there. So I went in the corner and did it. I truly am in shock. And I don’t take it for granted. And I am going to try to take it all in and I know this will be a memory I will remember for the rest of my life. I think I maybe would have been less emotional, if it’s like a committee that pick picks it or like, you know, some something more on the higher-ups or whatever. But the fact that it’s my peers, and you know, Olympians and athletes and Team USA that, came together and voted for me to do that. It means a lot more because yeah, I just don’t realize how many people believe in me. I have big goals, you know, and I have a lot of goals that I want to accomplish. And honestly, flag-bearer was one of those things that I just never thought would happen. Especially you know, even though tennis is like an Olympic sport, it’s not maybe the most popular sport for the Olympics. So I just didn’t think that was even a possibility. There’s never been a tennis player before (as flag-bearer) and I don’t know, I just didn’t think I would be that player. But I’m obviously super grateful for my fellow Team USA athletes for nominating me,” Gauff said.

This Olympic Tennis Tournament is a special one, as it’s being played at a site of a grand slam tournament. Roland Garros, host of the French Open, will host the tournament on its famous red clay courts. I’m sure Coco Gauff is okay with that, as she’s played great there. She was a finalist in 2022, a quarterfinalist in 2023, and a semifinalist in 2024, losing to Poland’s Iga Swiatek all three times. Swiatek is the top seed in the Olympic Tournament this week.

As for Gauff, she is seeded second, and plays Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia in the first round in singles, and she’s playing with fellow Americans in Jessica Pegula in Women’s Doubles and Taylor Fritz in Mixed Doubles.