Christopher Eubanks might sometimes be absent from the touring scene, but his charismatic aura isn’t one to be ignored. After capping his dream season in 2023, the American sensation committed to more off-court adventures. He made appearances in podcasts, talk shows, and even commentary gigs. However, he remains an essential part of the American tennis team. As his compatriot Coco Gauff enjoyed his company during their outings in Australia, she posted a heartfelt post for Eubanks on New Year’s.

The 28-year-old welcomed laudable results during his spring spurge in 2023. Though he wasn’t unknown on the circuit, his sudden rise to prominence came as a result of his Wimbledon success. A fourth-round finish at the grasscourt event turned heads in his direction with everyone intrigued to know more about the 6’7 big server. His classic show of athletic finesse wasn’t just a one-off. The American player reached the final eight of the Miami Open earlier and later, clinched the Mallorca Championship.

Unfortunately, Eubanks’s underwhelming performance in 2024 watered down his dominating status on the tour. A below-par ending to his Grand Slam adventures altered his ranking, as he dropped out of the top 100. He was mostly active on the Challenger level, and even so, he could only register one title finish, which came at Knoxville. Despite such a concerning record, Eubanks has retained his spot in Team USA and even marked his maiden appearance at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

With the 2024 season behind us, Eubanks’ countrywoman Gauff posted a throwback on her official Instagram handle. The World No. 3 added several snaps to her story, with one including Eubanks by her side, amongst others. The duo seemed to be having fun in the photo and Gauff captioned the post “Thank you 2024”. Subsequently, Eubanks reposted that snap to his own story and wrote “When I’m with my squad I cannot do no wrong.” For those unaware, this heartfelt caption is a lyric reference to rap artist Travis Scott’s hit single, Goosebumps!

As for Gauff, she is currently in action at the season-opening United Cup. Alongside her mixed doubles partner Taylor Fritz, she helped America breezed past Canada’s and Croatia’s challenge to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.

Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz register a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Canada in Perth

American superstars Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz were nothing short of commendable in their first mixed doubles encounter at the United Cup. The champions of the last two editions of the event registered a nerving victory over Team Canada to get Team USA off to a winning start. While on the one hand, Gauff downed Leylah Fernandez with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-2, Fritz, unfortunately, couldn’t script a similar result against Felix Auger-Aliassime. Regardless, the duo paired for a decider mixed doubles thriller and clinched the tie 7-6 (7/2), 7-5.

Following their victory, Gauff told the reporters in Perth: “I’m really happy how we played in the mixed. We got better and better in the match. We had a lot of chances and were finally able to take them.” Meanwhile, Fritz expressed his thoughts on the encounter saying, “It would have been tough to go to bed tonight with a mixed loss as well. Coco carried me and we got it done.”

After their defeat against Canada, Team USA got past the Croatian challenge as well, and they now await their opponents in the quarterfinals. Are you backing America to lift the United Cup title again?