Here's Everything To Know About Coco Gauff’s Mystery Boyfriend
Tennis star Coco Gauff is careful to keep her relationship out of the spotlight.
The 20-year-old has been dating her boyfriend for over a year, and she hasn't revealed his identity just yet. But her man will be making appearances at upcoming tennis events, she recently told People.
“My boyfriend, he'll probably come to maybe some tournaments in the U.S. It's just a little bit easier than coming to Europe," she told the publication.
Sadly, this seems to mean he will not be accompanying Coco’s parents to cheer her on at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer, but he is surely a devoted fan who will be watching at home.
Here, read more about what Coco has said about her mystery man and how their relationship has evolved.
Coco talks about him in interviews.
In an interview with the Tennis Channel's Warm and Fuzzy series, Coco and host Michael Kosta were listening to live music when Michael asked her, "What does that type of harp music make you feel?"
"It makes you feel like you want to be in love," she responded.
The host took the opportunity to ask about Coco's love life, which she said was "trending up," before laughing and adding, "God, I hope he doesn't see this."
Coco further opened up about her boyfriend in a post-match press conference after winning the US Open.
She said the night before her first go at a Grand Slam (at the 2022 French Open), she got distracted and spent too much time envisioning coming out on top. Coco believed this played a part in her losing the match and, to prevent her mind from going in the same direction a year later, she called her boyfriend to distract her.
"I told him, 'Let's talk until it's time to go to sleep,' so we spoke until 1:00 a.m. and then I went to sleep," she said. Coco explained that their conversation helped her "give it my all" when it came time for the match.
Recently, Coco shared that her boyfriend brings out her competitive side. The two are currently participating in a reading challenge where they've dared one another to read 24 books in 2024.
"I like trying to finish faster than him," she told reporters at the German Open in Berlin, per Us Weekly. "I’m two books ahead, so I’m winning right now."
She hasn’t revealed his name.
While Coco has mentioned him a few times, she hasn't disclosed the name of her boyfriend (yet). It seems like being in the public eye means people will scrutinize everything they do, and she’s just not up for that.
"This is my first real relationship,” Coco told Time in April. “To just have someone to talk to who is not involved in tennis at all gives me a fresh perspective.”
However, fans have definitely speculated about who Coco’s mystery man is. And it appears they are right on the money.
“People on Twitter found him two or three days ago," she told Vogue earlier this year. "I won’t respond and confirm if it’s him or not, but they caught me in the comments, so they know."
Fans speculate her boyfriend is Jalen Sera, a budding musician from Atlanta. And Jalen and Coco’s comments on each other’s Instagrams are seriously incriminating evidence.
When Coco posted her Time cover, Jalen commented “One of one💫.” Underneath on a mirror selfie posted in April, he wrote “The world needs you🕸️.”
Coco has also left mysterious comments on Jalen’s posts. Coco commented three times on outfit pic from April, saying “shoutout to the photographer,” “flower grown ♾️” and “365.”
He doesn’t play tennis.
While Coco has never confirmed the mystery man in her life, she has been adament that he does not play tennis (so it's not fellow tennis star Ben Shelton, as some fans theorized).
“Some people thought it was someone in tennis, and that couldn’t be further from the truth," she told Vogue.
And Coco isn’t taking any chances after seeing Challengers.
The film follows a love triangle between tennis players Tashi (Zendaya), Patrick (Josh O'Connor), and Art (Mike Faist), and takes a closer look at the effects that competition can have on relationships. After watching the movie, Coco had some thoughts.
"I told my boyfriend, ‘Thank God you don't play tennis,’ because [Tashi Duncan is] right. I would not want to date a scrub on tour," she said, per an Instagram post from ESPNW.
Coco later clarified that it was just a joke, writing in the comments section, “I was joking bruh 😭😭 plz don’t take this seriously.”
She’s been dating him for about a year, but has known him for ages.
While Coco has only been seeing her boyfriend for about a year, she's known him for a long time. Her mom Candi Gauff was his fourth-grade teacher.
“My mom always said, if they’re bad in school, they’re probably bad as adults,” Candi told Time. “He’s always been a smart, nice kid.”
Coco agrees, and dropped a few more clues when describing his personality to Vogue.
“He’s a very nice guy. He’s in school now. He’s about to apply for music school. He wants to be an actor and he plays the guitar,” she said.
Corey Gauff, Coco’s father, seems in denial that his daughter has a boyfriend. He told Vogue that her boyfriend is a “friend that she’s dating."
He gave her an infinity necklace.
In a November interview, Coco told reporters that she was wearing an infinity necklace given to her by her boyfriend. "I'm sure a lot of relationships look up to that symbol [of infinity], so I'm not going to explain that," she explained, adding that he gave it to her after she won the US Open.
"My boyfriend gave this to me..."
👀#TheBreakTC | #WTAFinals | @CocoGauff pic.twitter.com/ZX6xyriX7V— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 4, 2023
Coco went on to say that before her boyfriend gave her the infinity necklace, she was wearing a necklace with a locket on it during the US Open. "That meant nothing; it was just a necklace," she said. Coco replaced that necklace with the one from her boyfriend, saying she wanted to "play with something that means something."
Keep an eye out for Coco’s biggest fan in the stands this summer!
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