Coco Gauff gives 'Queen' shoutout to award-winning 20-year-old American actress after fond Miami Open meeting

Coco Gauff recently gave a shoutout to Marsai Martin, the 20-year-old American actress and film producer, who has bagged multiple awards for her performances in the sitcom show Black-ish and films Melody 1963: Love Has to Win and Little. Gauff's shoutout came on the back of the pair's meeting at the ongoing 2025 Miami Open.

Martin attended Gauff's second-round demolition of Sofia Kenin at the WTA 1000 event. After the 2023 US Open's dominant 6-0, 6-0 win against Kenin, the two came together for a candid picture.

In it, Gauff was still wearing her match clothes, while Martin sported a sleeveless white dress, pairing it with a dark green hat and a lemon green bag. The WTA No. 3 later posted the picture as an Instagram Story and captioned it:

"Shoutout to this 👑 for coming ❤️❤️ @marsaimartin"

Gauff's Instagram Story featuring Marsai Martin (Source: Instagram/cocogauff)

Coco Gauff and Marsai Martin had previously bonded at a gala event in Hollywood last year, where TIME magazine's 2024 Women of the Year honorees were invited.

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"Thank you for inspiring me" - Coco Gauff to Marsai Martin and other female trailblazers at gala Hollywood event in early 2024

Coco Gauff (left) and Marsai Martin (right) at TIME magazine's 2024 Women of the Year gala (Source: Getty)

Coco Gauff won her maiden Major title at the 2023 US Open after overcoming Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Her on-court achievements that year, combined with her off-court social activism, earned her a spot in TIME magazine's list of 2024 Women of the Year honorees. The WTA star was later invited to a gala Hollywood event to celebrate the honorees, where she briefly addressed the other honorees, which included Marsai Martin.

"Our impact is strongest when we work together. Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for believing in me and thank you for showing me that the sky’s the limit," Gauff said.

Gauff's next challenge at the 2025 Miami Open is a third-round clash against Maria Sakkari. The American is yet to experience a title triumph this year, with her last title coming at the prestigious year-end 2024 WTA Finals.

So far this season, Gauff has been inconsistent, with her best result coming at the 2025 Australian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals before bowing out of the tournament with a loss to Paula Badosa.

In Doha and then in Dubai, Gauff produced underwhelming displays, leading to early exits from both WTA 1000 events. At the 2025 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, she reached the fourth round but was surprisingly beaten at this stage by Belinda Bencic.