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Coco Gauff believes that tennis can have men facing women in specialized contests after basketball did something similar recently.
The NBA All-Star Weekend saw the first ever NBA vs WNBA 3-point challenge, where Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu went head-to-head. The former won by a narrow margin, scoring 29 points to Ionescu's 26.
Looking back at the event, Gauff praised Curry and Ionescu for their performances. She further expressed hope that it wasn't a one-off occurrence.
"I think the Sabrina and Steph competition was great. I think most people were rooting for Sabrina. What she did was incredible, especially also shooting from the NBA line. Steph is definitely the greatest three-point shooter ever," she said. (via nbcrightnow)
"I just hope they continue to do this. It just humbles a lot of men in the world. I really like that. Especially basketball, that type of competition, it's something physicality doesn't always matter. I think that's what makes it cool," she added.
Gauff also said that tennis could follow basketball's lead and implement something similar in the racket sport.
"There's also like the dropshot one. Ons (Jabeur) and Carlos (Alcaraz) would be a cool matchup against that. There could be maybe a consistency challenge," she opined.
Coco Gauff's 2024 season so far
Coco Gauff got her 2024 campaign off to a great start when she clinched her seventh career title and fifth on outdoor hard courts at the ASB Classic.
She dropped just one set all tournament, in the final against second seed Elina Svitolina. Gauff came from a set down to beat Svitolina 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3 in just over two and a half hours. It also marked the first successful title defense of her career.
At the Australian Open, the American dropped just one set on the way to the semifinals, where she lost 6-7(2), 4-6 to Aryna Sabalenka. Following that, Gauff took part in the Qatar Open, where she faced a shock first-round exit following a 2-6, 4-6 defeat to Katerina Siniakova.
Gauff is next scheduled to take part in the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she is set to face Italian lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto on Tuesday, February 20. Speaking ahead of the WTA 1000 event, she expressed her desire to bounce back from the setback in Doha by putting together a strong run in Dubai.
