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. Second-seeded Gauff defeated Australia’s Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-2 in her opening match.
The Americans jokingly, her coach accused 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.