Coco Gauff 'grateful' to be 1st tennis player as U.S. flag-bearer - ESPN

PARIS — As the reigning U.S. Open champion and the current No. 2 women's tennis player globally, Coco Gauff was already going to be fairly recognizable around the Olympic Village.

But now that she's been named Team USA's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony alongside two-time Olympic gold medalist LeBron James, her popularity on the premises has skyrocketed.

«Walking around the village last night and so many people came out to congratulate me and even some of the people who were on Team USA who I guess voted for me who I didn't know,» Gauff said Thursday. «They were like, 'Yeah, I was one of the people who nominated you, and we couldn't have asked for a better person.'»

Although the newfound spotlight has been welcomed by Gauff's tennis teammates, she's quick to acknowledge just how caught off guard she was to learn that she would be the first tennis player to lead an American Olympic delegation.

Even 24 hours before carrying the flag with James while floating on a boat down the Seine, the honor still has not yet fully registered.

«No, because I guess there's never been a tennis player before, and I just didn't think I would be that player,» Gauff said. «But I'm obviously very, super grateful for my fellow Team USA athletes for nominating me and allowing me to hold this honor.

»It means even more when it comes to the peers around me because they're obviously excellent at what they do, and for me to be a part of that excellence means a lot."

Officially, her name was placed for consideration by fellow tennis player and longtime friend, Chris Eubanks. Like 20-year-old Gauff, Eubanks is making his Olympics debut.

«People are starting to kind of see her for more than just a tennis player, and I think that's kind of one of the