Coco Gauff may have channeled her inner Queen Bey during her third-round match at the U.S. Open on Friday night.
The young tennis star revealed in a post-match interview that she was thinking about Beyoncé’s ongoing Renaissance World Tour in her 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 win against Belgium’s Elise Mertens at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.
“When I’m playing tennis, I think about a lot of things outside of tennis,” she said. “I was thinking about the Renaissance tour during my match.”
She added: “I think a lot of different things, and honestly it keeps me relaxed. I don’t know if it’s a coping mechanism or what.”
Gauff also noted that she thought about celebrity couple Justin and Hailey Bieber, as well as Marvel, at times on Friday.
The Biebers attended the Arthur Ashe match to watch the Florida native play. The 19-year-old told reporters that she spotted the pair on the jumbotron “immediately.”
She said she was honored by the presence of celebrities like the Biebers and Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, who was also in attendance. She said Justin Bieber’s 2010 hit “Never Say Never” was one of her favorite songs when she was younger.
But when asked to name which celebrity would have her most star-struck if they attended, Gauff said it would be none other than Beyoncé.
“If she ever came, oh, my goodness, I hope they would not show her on the screen,” she said with a laugh. “Maybe at the end.”
In May, Gauff posted a TikTok video that showed her preparing to attend a Renaissance World Tour stop in Paris.
The tennis star was asked about the concert in an interview with Tennis Channel last month.
“I teared up a little bit when she came out. I’ve been wanting to go forever,” she said, adding that she had plans to attend another concert later this year.
Beyoncé, meanwhile, recently received a new title amid her tour: honorary mayor of Santa Clara, California, for a day.
The singer said she was grateful for her fans on the “special” occasion during a performance in Santa Clara on Wednesday.
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