- Coco Gauff joked about grabbing a drink during a "Rally for Relief" doubles game Wednesday evening.
- When the 15-year-old and Dominic Thiem, her opponent across the net, were being left out of the action during a prolonged one-sided rally, Gauff said "I would ask you to go on a drink with me, but I'm too young."
- The crowd on hand at Rod Laver Arena erupted in laughter after Gauff's quip during the charity event, which raised roughly $3.5 million for the victims of the ongoing bushfires in Australia.
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Coco Gauff joined some of tennis' brightest stars at the "Rally For Relief" to help raise money for the victims of the Australian bushfires ahead of this year's Australian Open.
But when the 15-year-old - who was playing alongside greats like Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Caroline Wozniacki, Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka, and Novak Djokovic - was being left out of the action during one doubles game, she joked about heading off the court to grab a drink.
"Okay, well," Gauff said as her partner, Alexander Zverev, held a sustained rally with Petra Kvitova on their side of the court.
Gauff then addressed her opponent, Dominic Thiem, who stood directly across the net.
"I would ask you to go on a drink with me," she began, "but I'm too young, so."
The crowd on hand at Rod Laver Arena erupted in laughter after Gauff's quip. More players ran onto the court to join their respective teams as the rally continued, and once there were four people on either side of the net, Gauff hit a beautiful cross-court backhand to win the point for Team Wozniacki.
Though the light-hearted competition was great fun for spectators, the financial success of the star-studded event was even more impactful. According to ESPN, Tennis Australia said Gauff and her counterparts helped raise roughly $3.5 million for the victims of the ongoing fires that have killed 28 people and more than a billion animals in Australia's New South Wales and Victoria states.
Though the first major of the year kicked off with qualifiers on Monday, Gauff will not play at the Australian Open in an official capacity until later this week. Gauff currently sits at 66 in the world in the WTA rankings and most recently lost to Germany's Laura Siegemund in the second round of the ASB Classic.