Eva Lys and Coco Gauff went for dinner together in Madrid, and had time to film some TikToks (Image: TikTok @cocogauff)
Earlier this month, Carlos Alcaraz said that, while he had a great relationship with his biggest rival, Jannik Sinner, they’d never go to dinner together. While some tennis players might try to separate their professional and private lives in that way, the opposite seems to work best for Coco Gauff.
Over the weekend, the two-time Grand Slam champion enjoyed an evening out in Madrid with fellow WTA star Eva Lys. They got glammed up and filmed some TikTok videos while heading out for dinner, and caught the attention of some of their other rivals. Alexandra Eala told the pair she “couldn’t comprehend this level of slay”.
Friendships on the tennis tours are unique. Players travel to the same tournaments week-in, week-out for around 11 months of the year and compete against each other in a one-v-one battle on opposite sides of the net. They can face off in tight matches for hours, trying to wear one another down. But off the court, some of them still maintain great relationships, like Gauff and Lys.
It’s something that those who aren’t fiercely competitive athletes may struggle to understand. But Gauff believes she does better at tournaments when going out of her way to hang out with others on tour or spend time in the city.
“How I help with my mental health on tour? Just connecting with people, friends, other players is something that I’ve been relying on more during this part of my life. And just trying to find the joys and everything. And for me, that’s going out, having dinner, eating food, taking pictures, dressing up, and yeah,” she said ahead of the Madrid Open.
“I think [I stay fresh] just forcing myself to experience new things on tour, which is hard when you’ve been in cities multiple times, because sometimes I did find myself like cruise control in a way, but I don’t know, just like a couple nights ago I went with Eva and just trying to find new people to go to dinner with, experiencing new things.
Coco Gauff finished runner-up at last year’s Madrid Open (Image: Getty)
“Yesterday I had a day off, so I went shopping and just trying new restaurants, going on TikTok, trying to ride to a different part of the city to see something new instead of going room service or downstairs. And I’ve honestly had a lot more fun, and whenever I do do that, I usually do well in a tournament, so it’s just something I have to force myself to do because I can easily just sit in bed and read and doom scroll for hours too.”
Gauff and Lys have only faced off once on tour, with the American beating the world No. 72 in Beijing last year. But for Gauff, who has two brothers, being friends with her rivals is similar to having a sibling. She’s ride-or-die off the court, but will do anything to beat them.
After her meal out with Lys, the 22-year-old said: “I mean, there’s not many players I go out with. Eva’s more social than I for sure. But there’s a few that you click with and it’s just an understanding. We go on court, we’re both trying to win, we’re both gonna do whatever it takes to win and then after that, it’s fine.
“I don’t know, it’s not quite like your siblings, but it’s almost like your siblings, where you’re playing with them and you don’t want them to win at anything, and you’d probably die before you let them lose, but you also die for them. So it’s kind of like that, maybe not as extreme with your friends! But it’s kind of like that.”
Gauff is the third seed in Madrid and has received a bye to the second round, where she faces Oksana Selekhmeteva or a qualifier. Lys is in her half of the draw – meaning they can only meet in the semi-finals – and meets Zhang Shuai in round one.
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