"Jumping into the New Year" - Coco Gauff welcomes 2024 with bungee jump adventure alongside family ahead of ASB Classic title defense

By S Shahi

Modified Jan 01, 2024 07:16 GMT

Coco Gauff recently celebrated her New Year's Eve with a bungee jumping adventure with her family from the Auckland Sky Tower. Gauff shared her exhilarating experience with her fans, showing off her courage and sense of humor.

Gauff arrived in New Zealand a few days before the end of 2023, perhaps to acclimatize to the conditions and get ready for the ASB Classic, a WTA 250 event that will start on January 1, 2024. She was accompanied by her parents, Corey and Candi, and her two younger brothers, Codey and Cameron.

One of the highlights of their trip was the Auckland Sky Tower, a 328-meter-tall structure that offers panoramic views of the city and its surroundings. The tower is also famous for its adventure options, such as the SkyWalk and the SkyJump, which allow visitors to walk or jump around the edge of the tower, while attached to a harness.

Gauff posted a clip on her Instagram story on Sunday, December 31, of fireworks going off at the tower with the New Year countdown.

"I literally jumped off this exact tower earlier today lol," Gauff wrote.

Some of her fans were skeptical about her claim and wondered if she was joking or lying. To prove them wrong, she posted a video of her jump from the tower, with the caption:

"Might tell you a joke but I would never tell you a lie."

The 19-year-old then shared another story, in which she revealed that her father, Corey, was not allowed to join her in the jump, because of his apparent fear of heights. She posted pictures of herself, her mother, and her brothers, all wearing the orange jumpsuits, ready to jump. She captioned the pictures:

"Lol we all jumped too except Corey Gauff 😂 he had to sit this one out; My dad and height do not mix well 😂"

The American then made a dedicated post in which she shared all the pictures of her experience on Instagram post with a caption:

"Jumping into the new year 🎊 #2024."

Coco Gauff will start her 2024 campaign at the ASB Classic, where she is the top seed and the defending champion. She will then head to Melbourne, where she will compete in the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year.

Coco Gauff to face Claire Liu in the Auckland opener

Coco Gauff will begin her 2024 season against fellow American Claire Liu in the first round of the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland.

Gauff, who won her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open last year, is arguably the favorite to retain her crown in New Zealand. The 19-year-old had a stellar 2023 season, winning four titles, including the Cincinnati Masters, and reaching the quarterfinal of the French Open and the semifinal of the WTA Finals.

Liu, on the other hand, is ranked No. 95 and has never won a WTA title. The 23-year-old reached her career-high ranking of No. 52 in January 2023, after making the second round of the Australian Open. She also reached the final of the WTA 125 tournament in Chicago and the semifinal in Budapest, along with quarterfinal appearances in Bastad and Seoul.

This will be the second meeting between Coco Gauff and Claire Liu on the WTA tour. Their previous meeting was at the 2022 Indian Wells second round, where the former won in straight sets. The winner of this match will face either Anna Blinkova or Brenda Fruhvirtova in the second round.

Edited by Aniket Rai