Tennis player Coco Gauff is named as USA flag bearer for Olympics

Transcript

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Coco Gauff, the 20-year-old tennis player, seemed floored today when her fellow teammate Chris Eubanks made this announcement in Paris.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHRIS EUBANKS: And I think because you are so special, you have the honor of wearing this jacket during the opening ceremony...

COCO GAUFF: Oh.

EUBANKS: ...And being the flag bearer with LeBron James.

(CHEERING)

DANIELLE COLLINS: Let's go, Coco.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

She took off her dark blue team blazer and put on a ceremonial white one that signifies she's the flag bearer.

CHANG: This is Coco Gauff's first Olympics. COVID kept her away from Japan three years ago. And she is the first tennis player to have the honor for the American team.

SHAPIRO: This is clearly a thrill for the No. 2-ranked Coco Gauff, who wrote on social media, quote, "I just want to say thank you to my fellow Team USA Olympians/athletes for voting and choosing me for this incredible honor.

CHANG: The opening ceremony will take place this Friday as some 100 boats carry tens of thousands of athletes and performers. They'll float down a 3.7 mile stretch of the Seine as spectators gather on the riverbanks to mark what organizers are calling the first outdoor opening ceremony in modern Olympic history.

SHAPIRO: Gauff, who's the reigning US Open champ, has had some tough singles matches this season. At Wimbledon, she didn't make it to the quarterfinals. And she lost in the semis at the Australian Open and at the French Open played in Roland-Garros, which is where the Olympic tennis will be played.

CHANG: Gauff said at the Australian Open earlier this year that she had her eye on medaling in the Olympics.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GAUFF: One of the goals I wrote down on my vision thing, vision notes, in my phone was to win a medal in the Olympics. And for me, like, I'm going to be completely honest, I don't really care what event it is in. So yeah, I just put I want to medal at any of the events. I ideally would want to play all three. But, you know, we have to see where I fall.

SHAPIRO: Coco Gauff is slated to play all three - singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Tennis starts on Saturday.

(SOUNDBITE OF NIKI SONG, "BEFORE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.