Coco Gauff is showing the world how it’s done. The young American tennis player is participating at the China Open, where she played against Naomi Osaka. The latter was forced to forfeit the match due to some health concerns, prompting Gauff to carry her tennis bag off the field in a rare and special show of sportsmanship.
The match was played this past Tuesday, October 1st. While Osaka managed to play through the first set, she retired in the second one. A video of the moment shows Gauff concerned for her wellbeing, following Osaka to her bench and asking her if she could help her in any way. “Really?” asked Osaka in a surprised voice.
Gauff is then seen carrying Osaka’s large tennis bag, with the two making their way off the field with the audience cheering in the background.
Osaka won the first set of the match 6 – 3, while Gauff won the second 6 – 4. Osaka’s forfeit resulted in her disqualification and in Gauff advancing to the China Open’s quarterfinals. She’ll be playing Yulia Starodubtsewa tomorrow.
Gauff’s comments after the end of the match
Following the conclusion of the match, Gauff shared her empathy for Osaka’s situation and wished her a speedy recovery. “It was a good match up to this point,” said Gauff.
“I wish Naomi a speedy recovery. Nobody wants to win a match like this, especially at one set all. Overall, I tried my best. It wasn’t my best tennis. I don’t know, it was just one of those matches where you’re trying your best at each point,” she concluded.
© Robert PrangeOsaka addressed her injury in a social media post, taking the situation in with a lighthearted approach “I locked my back up during practice earlier and honestly wasn’t sure if I could even play but I just wanted to try, unfortunately things just got progressively worse during the match,” she said.
“Totally worth it though lol.”