Coco Gauff Says Her Boyfriend Called Tyler, the Creator Lyric Shoutout Weeks Before it Dropped

The star athlete ‘was not expecting’ the mention—but her boyfriend called it.

Coco Gauff / Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

At this point, there’s really no denying the breadth of Coco Gauff’s impact in the tennis world. Inspired by the likes of Serena and Venus Williams, she broke onto the scene at just 15 years old. In the five or so years since, she has cemented her status as one of the top young players in the game—and one of the top players full-stop.

Last fall, she only confirmed the long-standing speculation about her career and potential for success with a win at the U.S. Open. With the title, she notched her first career Grand Slam championship and became the youngest American since Serena Williams in 1999 to win the tournament. This summer, she reached No. 2 in the world, her highest WTA ranking yet.

Given her relatively quick rise to the top of the women’s tennis game, it’s no surprise that Gauff has garnered attention from athletes. She’s received praise from some of the foremost stars in her game—among them the likes of the Williams sisters and Roger Federer. But now, her influence and impact (not to mention her poise at such a young age) is garnering attention from other celebrities, too.

In late October, American rapper Tyler, the Creator released his single “Thought I Was Dead.” The song, which is part of his seventh album Chromakopia, included a reference to the young tennis star: “You ain’t Coco Gauff, you can’t serve me.”

When she first heard it, Gauff did what any of the rest of us might do. She immediately took to her Instagram story to express her surprise. In a recent interview at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, she referred to it as a “really cool” honor that she “was not expecting.”

Coco Gauff / Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

The extent of her interaction with the rapper prior included a couple of Instagram DM’s and likes. “It was crazy because he DM’d me congratulations over China Open,” she explained. “We never talked or anything before. He liked my photo or something when I won U.S. Open.”

She didn’t imagine the DM meant anything more than it did. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, was convinced that something bigger was coming. ”Then my boyfriend is like, ‘Watch, he’s going to drop you in a song,’” she said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, that would be insane. That’s never going to happen.’”

But “three weeks later,” Gauff said, “it happened.”

While momentous—and while we’re convinced she’s not yet quite over it—the 20-year-old currently has other matters to attend to. Right now, she’s on the ground in Riyadh competing for the WTA Finals title. On Thursday, Nov. 7, she will be looking for her third straight win in the group stage of play—and a spot in the semifinals.