Coco Gauff jokes about Rafael Nadal not being 'dead' after retirement announcement, turns emotional thinking about seeing Spaniard go

An emotional Coco Gauff opened up about how she felt after her 'favorite player to watch' Rafael Nadal announced his retirement. The Spaniard stunned the tennis world on October 10 when he announced that he would be hanging up his racket after the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.

The 20-year-old, seeded fourth at the Wuhan Open, comfortably took out Viktoriya Tomova and Marta Kostyuk in the opening two rounds before defeating Magda Linette 6-0, 6-4 to reach the semifinals.

During the post-match press conference, Coco Gauff was asked about her thoughts on Rafael Nadal's retirement. The American joked how the Spaniard wasn't 'dead' and said:

"Yeah, he was or is my favorite person to watch. These retirements, we talk about like they're dead (smiling)," Gauff said.

Gauff disclosed that the 22-time Major champion was her 'favorite player to watch' because of his unparalleled intensity.

"But he is my favorite person to watch practice honestly. The intensity that he brought on the practice court and obviously on the match court is something that I felt like watching is unmatched."

The World No. 4 acknowledged that she got emotional while watching Nadal's retirement announcement and also joked about how the 14-time Roland Garros champion won the title for the 'majority of her life'. The American was born in 2004, while the Spaniard won his first Roland Garros in 2005, defeating Mariano Puerta.

"Watching the video, a bit emotional because Rafa is all I've known growing up. Yeah, he's all I've known. Pretty sure he's won Roland Garros for like the majority of my life."

Coco Gauff hoped that the 38-year-old wasn't forced to make this decision, alluding to his recent injury struggles while giving a nod to his illustrious career.

"Yeah, I guess it's something that's unfortunate. It's going to happen to everybody one day. Hopefully it was completely on his terms. I know maybe this year he didn't have as many injury-free moments as he wanted to. Overall, the career he had is something that players and people dream of."

After an underwhelming North American hard-court swing, Gauff made the tough decision of splitting with Brad Gilbert and bringing Matt Daly on board as her coach. The change did wonders for the World No. 4 immediately as she clinched the China Open.

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"I only took the picture with Rafael Nadal there. I was like, Carlos, you can't be in it" - Coco Gauff recalls hilarious Paris Olympics story with the Spanish duo

Coco Gauff (Source: Getty)

Continuing her thoughts, Coco Gauff also recalled a hilarious story from the Paris Olympics featuring Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. She said that she got a picture with the 38-year-old after exchanging pins with him.

"Actually, I don't think I posted the picture, but this we traded pins at the Olympics, which is the one thing I wanted to do. He was super nice with that. We were both waiting on the shuttle. It was the last shuttle of the day, like 11 p.m. I asked him if I could have one of his pins. He gave me one," Coco Gauff said.

However, she didn't allow Alcaraz to feature in the photo since he didn't have any pins to exchange.

"Carlos(Alcaraz) was there, too, but Carlos didn't have any pins. I only took the picture with Rafa there. I was like, Carlos, you can't be in it because you didn't give me a pin."

Gauff called this a memory she would cherish forever.

"Yeah, just something like that I'll remember. And something I'll definitely tell my kids because it meant a lot to me."

Coco Gauff will play top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of the Wuhan Open on October 12. The winner will play one of the home favorites between fifth seed Zheng Qinwen and Wang Xinyu in the final.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal's swansong will begin on November 19, 2024, when Spain will take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup Finals knockouts.