Coco Gauff Surprised to Be Named Team USA’s First Tennis Player Olympic Flag Bearer

The athlete will carry the flag alongside LeBron James at the opening ceremony on Friday.

Coco Gauff / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time in Team USA history, a tennis player will serve as one of the flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Coco Gauff, the standout professional tennis player who broke onto the scene in 2019 and has been steadily rising ever since, will carry the U.S. flag alongside basketball icon LeBron James. Her teammate and long-time friend, fellow pro tennis player Chris Eubanks, made the announcement in front of the Team USA tennis team on July 24.

Eubanks started with a speech about Gauff’s accomplishments on the court—which, of course, includes becoming the first American teen since Serena Williams in 1999 to win the US Open in 2023—before breaking the news that she would have a special role during the July 26 ceremony.

Gauff’s surprise was evident in a video shared on the Team USA Instagram account. “I was not expecting that,” she remarked. “Thank you. That’s really cool.”

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“The reaction says it all,” the Team USA account wrote in a separate post. “@cocogauff is set to lead the 592-member 2024 U.S. Olympic Team for the historic Seine river Opening Ceremony.”

The 2024 games will mark Gauff’s first Olympic appearance, and her role as flag bearer will only serve to make it even more significant. “I never thought in a million years I would have the honor of carrying the American flag for Team USA in the opening ceremony,” Gauff said in a statement following the announcement. “I could not be more proud to lead my teammates with LeBron as we showcase our dedication and passion on the biggest stage there is—at a moment where we can bring athletes and fans together from around the world.”

Opening ceremony coverage will begin at 12 p.m. ET on NBC on Friday.