Coco Gauff experienced an unusual incident during her match at the Italian Open in Rome.
The 21-year-old American was playing against China`s Qinwen Zheng in the semifinals. World No. 8 Zheng appeared visibly surprised and confused by Gauff`s actions.
This incident took place late Thursday night during the decisive third set of their challenging match.
The moment occurred when Gauff was serving. Zheng had returned to her chair to pick a different racket. While Zheng was by the side of the court examining her new racket, Gauff proceeded to serve. Zheng turned back towards the court, looking utterly astonished.
The Rome crowd reacted with laughter at the unexpected turn of events. Commentators questioned Gauff`s awareness, saying, “Did she not see her?” Gauff was later seen sharing a laugh with the umpire, seemingly not realizing Zheng was not ready to receive the serve.
Despite this moment, Gauff went on to win the lengthy semifinal match in a third-set tiebreak. She is scheduled to play Italy`s Jasmine Paolini in the final on Saturday at the Foro Italico Sports Complex.
In a separate notable moment this week, Gauff playfully dared the local fans to boo her during an on-court interview. After her quarterfinal victory over Mirra Andreeva, the 2023 US Open champion discussed her possibly “controversial” preference for pasta with the Rome audience.
Asked about preferring Cacio e pepe to carbonara, the 21-year-old explained, “I just think Cacio e pepe is better.” She added with a laugh, “I don`t know if that is controversial here – I just like that better. But carbonara is still good, I just think Cacio e pepe is great. If I had to choose between one I would choose Cacio e pepe.”
Turning to the spectators, Gauff humorously said, “I don`t know if you guys agree. If you don`t, you can boo me – it`s OK.”
