Coco Gauff, Serena Williams and Emma Raducanu picked by Chelsea women's players while naming their favorite female athletes outside football

Some members of Chelsea FC's women's team picked Coco Gauff, Serena Williams, and Emma Raducanu as their favorite female athletes outside football.

The exercise was conducted on the occasion of USA's National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The annual observance day dates back to 1987, when it was brought to life by then-US President Ronald Reagan after he signed Proclamation 5606.

Since 1987, it has been celebrated on one of the days in the first week of February. To celebrate the day, community-based events, activities, and award ceremonies are organized, which often feature female athletes of renown.

The Chelsea FC women's team players who named their picks were Americans Catarina Macario and Mia Fishel, Canada's Ashley Lawrence, and England's Aggie Beever-Jones.

Brazil-born Macario, who plays as a forward for both Chelsea FC's women's team and the USWNT, went first.

"My favorite female athlete outside of soccer is Serena Williams," she said.

Up next, it was American forward Fishel's turn.

"My favorite female athlete in the US be Coco (Gauff). She's the young rising star and she's killing it", said Fishel.

Lawrence, a versatile player comfortable across both midfield and defense, also picked Gauff as her favorite.

"My favorite female athlete outside of football is Coco Gauff because she is a tennis player. I love watching tennis and she's doing amazing things at such a young age, winning Grand Slams, and yeah, she's just paving the way for future tennis players."

Beever-Jones was the last one to name her pick.

"My favorite female athlete outside of football is Emma Raducanu."

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What are Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu up to after the Australian Open?

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Serena Williams may have bid her farewell to tennis, but youngsters Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu are still in the budding stages of their respective careers. Both of them have one US Open title each, and are seen as two of the brightest young talents in women's tennis.

Gauff, who was one of the favorites at the 2024 Australian Open, went all the way to the semifinals. However, she was beaten by a dominant Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(2), 6-4, who eventually went on to clinch the women's singles title.

Gauff's next stop will be at the WTA Qatar Open in Doha, where she is seeded second.

Raducanu's Australian Open run wasn't as deep as Gauff's, as she was knocked out in the second round. She did get off to a promising start, winning her first-round match against Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-2. However, she lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the second round to Wang Yafan.

Raducanu also suffered a second-round exit from the Abu Dhabi Open as she lost 6-4, 6-1 to Tunisia's Ons Jabeur. The 21-year-old Brit's next stop on the 2024 WTA Tour is yet to be confirmed.