Coco Gauff and Zendaya will be looking to put some time on the calendar as the upcoming tennis-themed movie “Challengers” heads to theaters.
Zendaya, who is the star of the blockbuster, confidently said that she would be thrilled to meet the 2023 U.S. Open champion if she got the opportunity.
“I love Coco (Gauff), I haven’t met her yet, but I sure hope so!” Zendaya said at the film’s Los Angeles premiere. “I know Brad’s (Gilbert, who worked as the tennis consultant on the film) her coach, so I'm like, 'I want to meet her!’”
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Gauff did not hesitate to express her excitement about getting called out by the A-list celebrity.
“SCREAMING IN MY BED RN ILY TOO @zendaya ahhhh,” Gauff said on Instagram. She went on to tweet out, “ahhhhh❤️❤️❤️”
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This wasn’t the first time the two had corresponded. After Gauff won the U.S. Open, Zendaya sent over some congratulatory flowers. Gauff said the gesture was the “coolest thing” about winning the title in New York.
In “Challengers,” Zendaya plays Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach after suffering a career-ending injury. Her character ultimately becomes the coach for her husband before getting involved in a love triangle with one of his opponents, who is also her former partner.
Gauff praised the star for how well she has been able to work alongside Gilbert to perfect the tennis role.
“[Gilbert] said that she picked it up decently well," Gauff said. "I mean, it's hard to replicate tennis, but one thing he did say, she is a hard worker and she was trying as hard as she can to make it as perfect as she could and that she's a super-sweet girl.”
If there’s one piece of advice Gauff has for those looking to check out “Challengers” in theater, she says that the plot isn’t meant to showcase tennis skills but instead to tell a unique love story.
"I think people shouldn't go into the movie critiquing the tennis. I think really that's just not what the story is about, so he did tell me that," she said.
“Challengers” opens in U.S. theaters on April 26.
