Congrats to U.S. Open Champion @CocoGauff,” he wrote. “You electrified Arthur Ashe stadium and the entire nation – the first of more to come and proof that anything is possible if you never give up and always believe.” “You’ve made America so proud,” he concluded. Barack, 62, also had kind words for Gauff, which he shared on Instagram. “Congratulations to US Open champion, @CocoGauff!” he wrote. “We couldn’t be prouder of you on and off the court – and we know the best is yet to come.”The former president shared his message alongside a photo he snapped with the tennis star at the tournament with his wife Michelle Obama, as well as the champion’s parents, Candi and Corey Gauff.
The former first lady, 59, also shared the group photo on Instagram, alongside which she wrote: “So proud of you, @CocoGauff! Your hard work and grit was on display throughout this tournament. This is your moment!”After her post-victory press conference on Saturday, Gauff reacted to the support she has received from the Obamas and other celebrities who openly rooted for her throughout the tournament. “The support I have gotten is incredible. Obviously from President Obama and former First Lady Michelle is crazy,” she told reporters, noting that the former first couple attended her first-round match and she is “a different person now.” Gauff went on to say that she “saw pretty much every celebrity they showed on that screen.” “I’ve been looking at it the whole night — or all week, two weeks, I’ve been looking at it from the first round till now,” she continued. “Some of those people I’ve actually met before. I saw Madelyn Cline was here.
I did a little shoot with her. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’
”She continued: “I’ve been embracing everyone. It doesn’t make me more nervous.” “Honestly, it helps me keep my mind off the match,” she said, adding that when stars are in the audience she thinks: “Okay, I have got to win in front of these people.”Though Gauff said she noticed members of the U.S. Secret Service during her first-round match, she did not realize the Obamas were present.
After securing a win over Laura Siegemund, Gauff told reporters that she initially thought either President Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden or President Bill Clinton were in attendance, not the Obamas.
