Just when Coco Gauff thought the year wasn’t going well for her, her fortunes changed instantly. The second half of this season has brought her tons of proud moments. Not only the tennis sensation is now receiving praises on the court, thanks to an impressive run at the WTA Finals, but off-court as well. She recently received a massive shout out from none other than popular American rapper Tyler, the Creator. Gauff’s name was featured in his newest single. But the player knows how to express gratitude and she’s done it now with her recent gesture towards Tyler.

In a recent clip from the Tennis Channel, various tennis stars revealed names of musical artists who would make it to their final year-end lists. When asked about her own list of best artists in 2024, Gauff revealed, “I feel like I have to definitely choose Tyler, the Creator, since he mentioned me in one of his songs.”

Few days ago, Gauff took to her Instagram while sharing her happiness and amazement after knowing that she got a shoutout from Tyler, the Creator. In his track called ‘Thought I Was Dead‘, Coco’s name pops up when the lyrics go, “B**ch, you ain’t Coco Gauff, you can’t serve me.”  This massive surprise left the player speechless. While revealing her emotions on social media, Coco wrote, “Me finishing practice to being mentioned on a Tyler song. This is absolutely insane.”

However, she didn’t actually anticipate this huge gesture from Tyler. “That was really cool. I was not expecting it,” said Gauff during the Media Day in Riyadh ahead of the WTA Finals on November 1st. Coco also revealed that the artist had personally reached out to her on social media. She said that it “was crazy because he DM’d me congratulations over China Open. We never talked or anything before. He liked my photo or something when I won US Open.”

What makes the entire situation all the more interesting is the fact that Gauff’s boyfriend, according to her, already had a gut feeling about her getting a shoutout from Tyler after she got a message from him. He was “like, ‘Watch, he’s going to drop you in a song.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, that would be insane. That’s never going to happen.’ Three weeks later, it happened. I was like, ‘Can he see into the future or what?'”, she said. Not long after receiving the big mention, Gauff has now returned the favors.

Being an avid listener of his songs, it was a no brainer for Gauff to feature Tyler, the Creator, in her list. Now that she’s given her own shoutout to the rapper, fans may hope for a unique collaboration between the two. But that’s a topic for another day. Additionally, Coco revealed Ravyn Lenae as her favorite female artist this year because of her popular studio album titled ‘Bird’s Eye‘.

At the moment, Gauff’s sole focus is on claiming the crown in Riyadh. Her confidence is on cloud nine after overcoming the challenge of former World No.1 Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals earlier this week.

Coco Gauff receives immense praise after her victory against Iga Swiatek

Coco’s win in straight sets (6-3, 6-4) over Swiatek in the WTA Finals was special. Simply because it was her first victory against the Pole in 2024. Moreover, it was only the second time in her career that the American player defeated Iga. Obviously, the happiness was unparalleled for Gauff. After registering the massive win, she revealed,

“I had confidence going in, I felt like I was playing great tennis and even when I was playing a little bit sloppy the games that I lost were still going to deuce,” said Gauff in a post-match interview. While reflecting on her challenges during the match, she added, “The first set I had like three straight games in a row with break points. I didn’t let it discourage me. I knew I’d get it, eventually. Even In the last game I missed two forehand returns in the net and I told myself ‘it’s ok I’ll get the next one’ and I did.”

Her win also earned Coco Gauff a huge admiration from Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs. The later praised her performance against Iga. Taking to her X account, Stubbs wrote, “Coco hits no DFs and wins her serve to love. She is by far the better player today from the back of the court….Iga serving to stay in the match.”

It will be intriguing to see if Coco can continue her golden run at the WTA Finals. Do you think the American tennis star will eventually win in Riyadh to wrap up the season on a high? Let us know in the comments.