There’s no harm in taking a breather from the intensity of the tennis courts, right? With the Beijing Open in full swing, some of the sport’s biggest names are swapping their racquets for sightseeing—and where better than Beijing’s iconic Forbidden City? Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff made the most of this cultural pitstop a few days ago.

In a video shared by the official X account of the China Open on September 29, Alcaraz and Gauff can be seen enjoying the Forbidden City, which was originally constructed between 1406 and 1420 by the Ming emperor Zhu Di. In the video, Gauff can be heard saying that it is the first time that she visited the culturally rich city and she did not know what to expect. Similar sentiments were seen by Alcaraz as well who looked mesmerized by the beauty of the city. But what caught the attention of the fans was the remark of Alcaraz for the WTA star.

As soon as Alcaraz saw Gauff in the traditional outfit, he instantly complimented her. “You are looking good,” he was heard saying in the video. Interestingly, Gauff did not fail to surprise the 21-year-old player. “Thank you. I got a new outfit. We got one for you too,” Gauff said. Soon, the Spaniard was also dressed in the cultural attire, as they took a tour of the city. But Alcaraz’s praise for Gauff did not end just here.

As the two spent some time together in the city, the Spaniard expressed his enjoyment in exploring the place with Gauff.  “I’m going to remember this moment for sure. It couldn’t be with a better person than Coco. I had so much fun with her, so we are going to have really good pictures together with the clothes,” he said further in the video. The visit of the tennis stars to the Forbidden City was also complimented by the bigwig of the sport, Prakash Amritraj.

Discussing their visit to the venue on Tennis Channel Live Podcast’s September 27th episode, Amritraj shared adorable remarks for the players. “They both look fantastic. I’m just a big fan of one-day take in the culture. Coco is a big fan of doing it for the culture. So is Carlos. And they do it everywhere they go. Love to see it, especially at a young age.” But besides their admiration for the place, Gauff and Alcaraz also witnessed some humorous moments in Beijing. 

“I was laughing so hard,” Coco Gauff reveals why she was amused seeing Carlos Alcaraz

The latest visit of Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff to the Forbidden City has mesmerized their fans immensely. The players too were in complete awe of the place as they highlighted their admiration for the culture. But besides the joyful times, the ‘tourists’ also engaged in some cheeky moments, as revealed by Gauff, per WTA tennis.com.

Speaking about Alcaraz, Gauff said, “I was laughing so hard when Carlos put his on because he had that huge smile and he was just standing there as people dressed him.” However, she did not feel jealous of the player’s outfit. “Mine had red and white, so I liked my outfit better. I wasn’t jealous. I’ve only seen settings like this on TV and in movies.” Interestingly, the place seems to have sparked a fondness in Gauff, who desires to visit it again.

“It was really cool just to see the architecture and how people lived during that time, and realising how big of a place it was for just the emperor to live in. I would do it again. I’ll probably go back next year.” As far as their tournament is concerned, both Gauff and Alcaraz are making remarkable progress. 

While Gauff will face either Naomi Osaka or Katie Volynets in the Round of 16 match, Alcaraz will battle against Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals. It will be interesting to see if they can continue their run and inch closer to winning the title.