Coco Gauff is having a fine campaign in the Indian Wells. Bouncing back from a horrid Middle East swing, she has made it to the pre-quarterfinals in the Californian desert, beating her last season menace, Maria Sakkari. But while her on-court performances are getting better and better, Coco is not missing out on any chance to have fun off-court. And hey, what could be a better way to have fun than taking shots at your friends? Especially at those who don’t respond to texts. That’s rude, right? Coco agrees as she spills the beans in a hilarious confession.

Talking to Tennis Channel, following her 7-6(1), 6-2 win against Sakkari on Monday, Gauff made a candid revelation. The interviewers were curious to know who among her tennis buddies is the worst and best texter. And guess what? The 20-year-old didn’t even think twice before naming names of the worst ones. So who are they?

“Worst probably, Jess (Jessica Pegula) and Ben (Shelton) are probably tied for first,” Coco revealed. Touching upon an instance of betrayal from Pegula, she added, “It got to the point where, Jess, she was weird cuz she invited me out it, didn’t respond. I was like, okay. Ben usually, like, you invite him, he probably won’t respond, and then when you do something without him then like the next day he’s like okay so what are we doing. And it’s like, okay, you should have responded. So yeah, I would say those two are tied for first, yeah.”

For the unversed, Gauff playfully called out Pegula on a previous occasion as well. Remember how she crashed her interview on the WTA tour last month? “You never responded to my texts. This girl invited me to go to the movies. I said let me know when you wanna go, and she never responded, so she’s fake,” said the 2023 US Open champion. Pegula, in response, couldn’t stop her laughter. But Gauff wasn’t done with her rant. Later on IG, she put up a video with a caption that read, “She texted me on Friday and it is now Sunday and still no response… smh @jpegula gonna go watch the movie by myself now.”

Now that we know about the worst texters, what about the best ones? According to Gauff, it’s “definitely Chris Eubanks. I feel like as soon as I text him, I get a response back like two seconds later. And then on the women’s side, best texter, uh, I’m gonna go with Desirae Krawczyk. She’s like pretty-pretty good.”

Coming back to Gauff and Pegula’s equation, they have played doubles together in the past. In fact, they even won 5 titles as a team, including 3 WTA 1000 trophies. But last season, they decided to focus on their singles campaigns and parted ways as doubles partners. But still, their friendship has remained strong. Pegula has always expressed her admiration for Gauff and her incredible growth as a player.

Jessica Pegula impressed with Coco Gauff’s maturity

Jessica Pegula sustained neck and back injuries last season. As a result, she had to take a long break. Coco Gauff, in the meantime, tried to team up with other players like Taylor Townsend in Madrid, Erin Routliffe in Rome, and Katerina Siniakova at the French Open. The last move really brought her great results, as she went on to win the doubles title with Siniakova at Roland Garros in June 2024.

Despite not being together on the court for some time, Pegula and Gauff eventually reunited for the Paris Olympics. However, their doubles team couldn’t move past the second round, as Czechia’s Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova eliminated them. Ever since, they haven’t played a doubles match together. Still, the bond remains!

Speaking highly of Gauff in a media interaction in August 2024, Pegula revealed how impressed she was with the 20-year-old’s growth and maturity. “I think she (Gauff) has definitely grown up a lot and matured over the last few years. She’s now much more sure of herself and knows what she wants. Also, she is hitting that age where you are learning all that stuff. You are trying to figure out what you want, how you want it, making more of your own decisions, and we have seen that over the past year now,” the US Open finalist said.

While they are not playing the doubles now, their singles journeys are going well. Gauff was having a tough time a few weeks ago, as she lost three back-to-back matches, including the Australian Open quarterfinal. But now she’s back in form, registering two straight wins in Indian Wells. She will face Belinda Bencic on Wednesday in the R16.

Jessica Pegula, on the flip side, won a WTA title last week. At the ATX Open in Austin, she beat compatriot McCartney Kessler to clinch the trophy with a score line of 7-5, 6-2. Similar to Gauff, she’s also secured her place in the R16 at the Indian Wells. On Wednesday, March 12, she will lock horns with Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. Do you think these two American women will make a deep run at the BNP Paribas Open this month? Let us know in the comments below.