Breaking News:‘I wanted to cry’: Coco Gauff reacts to being named US flag bearer

PARIS (NEXSTAR) – During a Thursday press conference ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Games, tennis star Coco Gauff said she was still in shock over being selected as flag bearer for the U.S. Olympic team.

The 20-year-old said the news still hasn’t sunk in yet.

“There’s never been a tennis player before and I don’t know, I just didn’t think I would be that player,” Gauff said. “I wanted to cry when I found out, but my whole team was there so I went in a corner and did it.”

The reigning U.S. Open champion will share the honor with NBA star Lebron James. Both were selected by Team USA athletes.

“I think it means even more when it comes to the peers around me because they are obviously excellent at what they do, and for me to be a part of that excellence means a lot,” Gauff said.

Her teammate, Chris Eubanks, had the honor of delivering the news to her.

“That was a really cool experience for me being able to see the reaction of her face,” Eubanks said.

Gauff compared Eubanks to a big brother and said hearing the news from him made it even more meaningful.

“Hearing it from someone so close to me … I think that kind of made the surprise even bigger,” she said.

Gauff noted that she hadn’t been given specific instructions for the opening ceremony as of Thursday, but she said she was sure it will be a memory she will remember for the rest of her life.

Gauff will make her Olympic debut in Paris. She was forced to sit out the Tokyo Games after testing positive for COVID-19.

Gauff is seeded No. 2 in singles and will be among the medal favorites. She and her usual doubles partner, Jessica Pegula, are seeded No. 1 in women’s doubles. Gauff and Taylor Fritz, the highest-ranked American man, were also seeded No. 2 in mixed doubles when those pairings were announced Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.