Kamal Ghorui
Coco Gauff and Frances Tiafoe gave tennis fans a funny moment away from the court during the 2026 Italian Open in Rome. While speaking on Tennis Channel, Gauff shared a story about Tiafoe showing up at a restaurant wearing sunglasses indoors. The comment quickly became one of the lighter moments around the tournament, especially after Tiafoe answered back on social media. The American WTA star joked that Tiafoe acted “like LeBron” because of the way he carried himself when he walked into the restaurant. According to Gauff, the other players also teased him for the look, but Tiafoe did not seem bothered at all. Later, the ATP star reposted Gauff’s comments on his Instagram Stories and jokingly replied, “It be yo own people.” The exchange came during a busy week for both Americans at the 2026 Italian Open, where they are competing in the ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event.
Coco Gauff says Frances Tiafoe got teased by players after restaurant appearance in Rome
While appearing on Tennis Channel, Coco Gauff explained how the funny moment happened. She said Frances Tiafoe walked into a restaurant in Rome and suddenly put on sunglasses indoors, leaving everyone confused. Gauff then openly laughed about it during the interview.“This is like two days ago. We were in a restaurant and he walked in and he put on shades, and I was like, ‘why are you putting on shades?’ So I make fun of him because he thinks he’s like LeBron like the way he talks and stuff, but it’s Foe so if anyone can do it, it’s Francis. But he definitely got crap from every single player for that and he didn’t care, so that’s what I respect,” Gauff told Tennis Channel.Frances Tiafoe later reacted in a relaxed way instead of taking the joke seriously. He reposted the clip on Instagram Stories and wrote, “It be yo own people,” showing there was no bad feeling between the two American stars.Away from the funny exchange, Coco Gauff also started her Italian Open campaign strongly. The World No. 3 defeated Tereza Valentova 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. After the win, she repeated a famous Rafael Nadal quote while talking about momentum before the French Open.“It would be great to have a deep run here, to have momentum before Roland Garros. But you know, the Rafa quote… ‘What happened in Madrid happened in Madrid. We are in Rome. Then we’ll be in Paris.’ I live by that quote,” Gauff said.Gauff is now set to face Solana Sierra in the third round. Meanwhile, Frances Tiafoe, the No. 20 seed, will begin his men’s singles campaign against Ignacio Buse after receiving a first-round bye.
