Coco Gauff beams with pride after conquering her fear with daring helicopter ride

Coco Gauff indulged in touristy affairs in Australia ahead of her 2025 United Cup campaign. The American tennis star conquered her fear of flying in a helicopter and also clicked a selfie with a quokka.

During her visit to Rottnest Island, Gauff indulged in several interesting activities. She took to her Instagram Story to share that she had gone for a helicopter ride. The 20-year-old said she was initially scared but overcame her fear. She captioned the Story:

"Rode a helicopter for the first time! I was scared but overcame it."

Coco Gauff's Instagram Story. (Image: Instagram @corigauff)

In another Instagram Story, she shared a selfie with a quokka in the background. Quokka is an approachable, domestic cat-sized animal that is only found in Australia. About 10,000 Quokkas live on Rottnest Island and its conservation status is vulnerable.

"And got the quokka selfie," Gauff captioned her Story.

Gauff's Instagram Story. (Image: Instagram @corigauff)

The 2023 US Open champion visited Rottnest Island along with her teammate Taylor Fritz. Also joining her Down Under are her parents and younger brothers Codey and Cameron.

Gauff shared that her family was on a Christmas break and she was excited to have them there.

"It's great to bring my family here. It's my first Christmas away from home. It was important for them to be able to come with me," Gauff said (via ATP Tour). "They're on Christmas break, so for them to be able to see a different part of the world is cool."

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"I wanted to play a higher level of competition" - Coco Gauff opens up on why she skipped the ASB Classic in Auckland to play United Cup

Coco Gauff at the 2025 United Cup (Image: Getty)

During a press conference on Friday, December 27, Coco Gauff was asked about her decision to skip the ASB Classic in Auckland to play at the United Cup. Notably, the 20-year-old is the two-time defending champion of the event in Auckland.

However, Gauff said she was looking for a "higher level of competition" and wanted to experience a team format.

"Yeah, I love Auckland. I won twice there. It was a great tournament. For me I wanted to play a higher level of competition and also a team competition. I had a lot of fun with the Olympics. Basically a similar crew here today," she said.

"Yeah, just had a lot of fun. The season's already so much by ourselves that it's nice to mix it up. I'm looking forward to hopefully having a good couple weeks here in Perth and hopefully in Sydney, as well," she added.

Team USA will kick off their United Cup campaign against Canada on Sunday, December 29. On Tuesday, December 31, they will take on Croatia.