WATCH: Coco Gauff & mother Candi mirror each other with hyped-up celebration during American's emphatic Indian Wells opener win

Coco Gauff had some serious support during her opening match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, as her mother Candi cheered her on to an impressive win in three sets. Gauff, seeded third, faced Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in a second-round contest that went the distance and was decided by a deciding-set tie-break.

Gauff made a strong start to the match and seized the early advantage, pocketing the first set 6-4. However, Uchijima made a stirring comeback in the second set, winning 6-3 to force a decider. Uchijima had come into the match high on momentum after beating Emma Raducanu, and it showed as she pushed Gauff to the limit.

Gauff celebrated her win with a hyped-up celebration, which was mirrored by her mother. Here's the video:

There was nothing to separate the two players in the final set. Coco Gauff, though, summoned all her experience and found the lines when it mattered most, winning 7-6 (4) to advance to the third round.

Gauff enjoyed plenty of support from the packed crowd, which included her mother, Candi, who shared a video on Instagram of herself celebrating her daughter’s win and captioned it:

“@cocogauff️‍🔥”

Screengrab of Candi Gauff's Instagram story. Source: Instagram @candigauff

Gauff is on the hunt for her first title of the 2025 season. Her last one came at the 2024 WTA Finals. She began the year by making the quarter-finals of the Australian Open but made early exits at the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships.

---

Coco Gauff pays tribute to mother and lung cancer survivor grandmother on International Women's Day

Coco Gauff alongside her mother, Candi Gauff. Source: Getty

Coco Gauff won hearts aplenty for her emotional tribute to her mother and grandmother after her win over Uchijima in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.

As the match coincided with International Women’s Day on March 8, Gauff was asked about the women who inspired her. She said:

"I'll give it (a shoutout on International Women's Day) for sure to my mom. She's been rocking with me, I don't know where she went, but she's been rocking with me the past few weeks."

Gauff went on to pay tribute to her grandmother Yvonee Lee Odom, who survived stage four lung cancer.

"And then, my grandmother. You know, she's a stage 4 lung cancer survivor and also integrated one of the local schools in Palm Beach County, way back when that Civil Rights era was there. So, shoutout to her, and she's the reason I'm so vocal on certain issues and I'll always use tennis as my platform to fight for equality, so shoutout to my mom and my grandmom," Gauff added.

Coco Gauff faces a stiff challenge in the third round, where she plays Greece’s Maria Sakkari. The 29th seed beat Viktoriya Tomova in her first match-up and will be keen to cause an early upset in the season’s first WTA 1000 tournament.