PARIS — Coco Gauff caused a brief, funny delay at the French Open when she stepped into Philippe Chatelier without a racket on Tuesday.
Gouf seemed confused before the boy in the ball carried a pack of mint-colored rackets a few minutes later.
“That’s better,” the court announcer said. It depicted laughter, applause and smiles from the crowd at the main tournament stadium.
Despite the confusion, no. 2nd seed Gauff defeated Australia’s Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-2 in her opening match.
The American jokingly accused her coach of the missing racket.
“To be honest, as long as I was on tour, my coach always kept his racket in his bag because he was very superstitious,” she said. “I’m blaming that at the coach. It’s fine.”
Gauff is Roland-Garros’ 2022 finalist and once again became a nominee for the title.
