Coco Gauff opens up about unexpected 'highlight' of her Cincinnati Open campaign after tournament site undergoes new revamp

Coco Gauff is currently in action at the Cincinnati Open. As the American gears up for her round of 32 match at the event, she recently revealed why the free food available for players at the Masters 1000 is her highlight for the week.

Gauff kicked off her hard court season earlier this month at the Canadian Open. While in Montreal, she went down to eventual champion Victoria Mboko in her second round match. Now, the 21-year-old has returned to action on home ground, competing at the Cincinnati Open.

Recently, Coco Gauff revealed that her favorite part of playing in Cincinnati was the free food, telling Tennis Channel,

“Free acai bowls is like my highlight of the week. And free smoothies, I've been doing that every day. The unlimited food is like, I mean I love to eat so the unlimited food has been my favorite part. Not having to worry about if your balance is close. Also people on my team were all kind of big backs so the food is like the biggest thing.”

For her opening round match at the Masters 1000 event, Gauff beat China's Wang Xinyu in straight games.

Coco Gauff heaps praise on the environment of the Cincinnati Open

Gauff at the Cincinnati Open 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

For Coco Gauff and several other American tennis stars, the Cincinnati Open marks their first major tournament on home ground in the hard court season.

Reflecting on playing on in front of an American audience, Gauff heaped praise on the Cincinnati Open and its organisation, telling the Tennis Channel,

“For me it's been great. I mean, the fan excitement is always the same. I think this is one of the tournaments that some people can attest, I've stayed after practice for like 40 minutes signing autographs just because of how thoughtful the fans are here and they really know a lot of players. And the facilities are great. To see this kind of investment in tennis, especially American tennis, is really cool.

After her win over Wang Xinyu, Coco Gauff will now take on Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska for her second round match at the Cincinnati Open. The last time the two tennis stars faced each other was at the Wimbledon Championships in July, where Yastremska pulled off an incredible upset to outdo her American counterpart in straight games. Now, with Gauff hungry for revenge, fans can expect an exciting showdown between the two.