“We just had to get the fam back together, ” said Danielle Collins. Like Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz, she’s also thrilled to join her teammates after a disappointing outing at the Paris Olympics. Gauff said, “This will be my first time playing the United Cup so I’m super excited to kick off the year in Australia… It’s a really, cool event. I had a lot of fun playing mixed doubles at the Olympics so I kinda want to do that again.” These players have become more like a family rather than just teammates. They are often seen having fun with each other, engaging in multiple activities to keep things tension-free inside the dressing room.

Gauff revealed why she has now become a “lucky charm” for Team USA at the United Cup. The 20-year-old American started her campaign at the United Cup by defeating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in straight sets. It took her just 1 hour and 36 minutes to beat Fernandez by 6-3,6-2. However, after the match, she was seen heaping praise on the Canadian by saying, “Yeah, very tough match to play for the first match, especially against a lefty.” Later on, she added, “Overall just happy with how I started off the season. Happy to do well for my team.”

We also saw Coco Gauff unveiling the secrets behind the happy mood in the camp during her post-match interview. During the on-court interview, the interviewer asked her to explain a bit about the escape rooms and how it’s helping them to keep things light-hearted for Team USA. In reply to that Gauff explained, “First one, we didn’t get out and I blame it on Taylor and Dez because we had the answer but they didn’t know to work on regular lock, and then the next one we got out like 20 minutes left. So super proud of us we went back to another room because we said we couldn’t start off the week with a loss and apparently you know this is my first time on the team.”

She further added, “They’ve been doing escape rooms for the last three United Cups but never got out of one. So I think I’m just gonna say I was the lucky charm. So, hopefully, we can continue that.” What is an escape room, though? Well, this is a game where people must solve puzzles and use clues to achieve a common goal, which is usually finding the key to unlock the room’s door. Has Coco Gauff taken part in this fun activity before, as well?

Yes, she did it in March this year but her partners at that time were different! She was spotted with her fellow tennis stars Ben Shelton, Chris Eubanks, and their friend Anna Mitchell in a medieval-themed room during that outing, Coco Gauff even shared a post on her social media with the caption, “escape room goats.“

Now, coming to tennis and their narrow escape from a disappointing loss against Team Canada. How did Team USA react to their 2-1 win over the Canadians at the United Cup?

Taylor Fritz thanks Coco Gauff “for carrying the team” forward in the 2025 United Cup

Coco Gauff gave the lead to Team USA with a win over Leylah Fernandez. However, Felix Auger-Aliassime pulled one back for the Canadians by defeating the in-form Taylor Fritz. It was all set at 1-1 and they need to win the mixed doubles match to bring things in favor of their nation at the 2025 United. In that match, Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz took 1 hour and 44 minutes to beat Leylah Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime by 7-6(2),7-5. Hence, Coco Gauff’s Team USA ultimately succeeded in taking “ revenge” on Team Canada by sealing the deal at 2-1.

What did Gauff say after the match? It was a do-or-die clash in this epic tie and Gauff looked quite relaxed. She was even seen having some light-hearted fun during the mixed doubles match. Speaking on her calm and composed approach, she added, “Oh, yeah, I was having fun…I was laughing. I was having a good time. I wasn’t thinking about the pressure, to be honest. I was just trying my best to have fun and enjoy it, yeah.“

What did her teammate Taylor Fritz say about this incredible comeback? “After the way I lost my singles match, it would have been really tough to go home today with a mixed doubles loss today as well. Thank you Coco for carrying the team, and we got it done.” Even the team captain, Michael Russel, showered praise on the team’s incredible fight by saying, “I am impressed by the resilience of this team, I am very happy about it. Coco and Taylor played very aggressively towards the end of the first set and carried that into the second.” With such a show as this, do you think Team USA can win the 2025 United Cup?