Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton look back on their pizza night with peers as the latter revisits his "archives"

Coco Gauff has reposted a photo shared by Ben Shelton on social media. The two American prodigies, who even joined forces for a mixed doubles exhibition match at the 2024 US Open, showed their warm camaraderie as they posed alongside friends.

Gauff and Shelton followed up on their respective breakout 2023 seasons in convincing fashion this year. While the 20-year-old picked up the WTA Finals title in Riyadh, the 22-year-old won his maiden ATP title at the Houston Open.

The World No. 3 and Shelton have been good friends for some time now, going by their comments about each other. On Thursday (December 19), the World No. 21 took to his Instagram to post some of his favorite photos from the 2024 season, captioned:

"Archives"

In one of the pictures, Gauff is getting pizza with Shelton and some of their peers. Later on Thursday, she reposted the photo on her Instagram story.

Screengrab of Coco Gauff's Instagram story (@cocogauff)

Shelton first disclosed his friendship with Gauff last September when he shared she was like a "little sister" to him.

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Ben Shelton: "You just see something from Coco Gauff that's special and different"

Ben Shelton (L) and Coco Gauff at the 2024 Arthur Ashe Kids' Day | Getty Images

Three months ago, Ben Shelton heaped rich praise on Coco Gauff's name and playing style after his first-round win in singles at the 2024 US Open. The American insisted that the World No. 3 was no lesser than a male player, thanks to her movement and defensive skills:

"I think first of all, the name is Coco, right? It's something that sticks in your mind. I mean, shout-out to Corey and Candi Gauff [Gauff's parents], because I think the name is half of it. It's a name that you remember.

Then, yeah, she's charismatic, such a great athlete, so many qualities out there on the court that, you know, resemble a male player, the way that she moves, the way that she can defend. You just see something from her that's special and different."

Shelton and Gauff then teamed up to take on Stefanos Tsitsipas and his girlfriend, Paula Badosa, in a "Mixed Doubles Madness" bout ahead of the US Open. The two Americans surrendered the one-set showdown by a scoreline of 4-6.