On Friday, Coco Gauff—just 20, but no stranger to chalking up records, firsts, and number one rankings—will join LeBron James in hoisting the flag to lead the nearly 600-strong American team into the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. It will mark the first time a tennis player has held the flag for the ceremonies.
“There is no greater honor than being chosen by my fellow athletes to be this year’s flag bearer, especially alongside one of my idols, Lebron,” she told Vogue on Wednesday. “I still feel like this is all a dream.”
This will be James’s fourth Olympics and Gauff’s first: While she was selected for the 2020 Tokyo Games, a bout of COVID prevented her from competing. Both athletes were selected as flag bearers by their fellow American Olympians.
“I’m incredibly proud of Coco—I know how great she is as a tennis player, but more importantly, how great she is as a person,” teammate Chris Eubanks, another first-time Olympian, said in a statement. “I don’t think there is anyone more deserving of this honor, and I’m excited to see her carry the flag as she leads our US delegation in the opening ceremony.”
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Gauff has made no secret of her ambition. At the beginning of the year, she started a new list of goals on her Notes app—a “vision thing,” as she called it in her April 2024 Vogue cover story. “I would say the biggest things on there are to win another Slam, and a medal at the Olympics,” she told writer Abby Aguirre. She’ll be well poised to do both: Currently ranked second in the world, Gauff will enter the US Open in late August as the defending champion. She’s also no stranger to the clay of Roland Garros, where the Olympic tennis will be played; she was the runner-up there in singles in 2022 and captured the doubles title there earlier this year with Czech player Katerina Siniakova. (Gauff will also compete in Olympic doubles with Jessica Pegula and mixed doubles with Taylor Fritz.)
“I never thought in a million years I would have the honor of carrying the American flag for Team USA in the opening ceremony,” Gauff said in an official statement. “I could not be more proud to lead my teammates with LeBron as we showcase our dedication and passion on the biggest stage there is—at a moment where we can bring athletes and fans together from around the world.”
