The Player's Box — Episode 20: Coco Gauff in The Player’s Box

Release Date: January 6, 2026
Hosts: Desirae Krawczyk, Jennifer Brady, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula
Special Guest: Coco Gauff

Episode Overview

This episode welcomes tennis superstar Coco Gauff into the Player’s Box for a lively, revealing conversation. Listeners get behind-the-scenes stories of player mishaps, pre-match adventures, travel tales, fashion choices, and a fun window into tennis friendships. The group covers everything from Secret Santa faux-pas, “Never Have I Ever?” confessions, fashion debates, superstitions, and social media trends, offering a candid look at life beyond the court.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pre-Season Catch-Up & “Unforced Error of the Week”

Timestamps: 01:04–10:39

• Coco’s Preseason & Secret Santa Mishap

  • Coco is home but headed to Atlanta for holiday parties before locking in for training.
  • Unforced Error: Coco misread a TikTok recipe and poured half a mug of Baileys into everyone's hot chocolate, instead of a shot. Everyone ended up too tipsy to finish (01:49).
    • “I thought she was using a mug and it was a shot glass, so I poured the wrong amount.” — Coco (02:22)

• Hosts' Unforced Errors & Winners

  • Jess: Flooded her hotel room by falling asleep with the shower running (03:11–05:12).
    • “When I stepped into the ledge of the bathroom, my foot was probably submerged in water.” — Jessica (04:20)
  • Jenny: Mistook the smell of heated, sweaty clothes for a dirty protein shaker (05:12–06:20).
  • Desirae: Helped a family recover their runaway dog after fireworks via Ring app and some sleuthing (06:35–08:33).

• Training Woes

  • Madison laments her ongoing hate for 400m sprints in training; internal monologue goes off the rails (08:56–09:55).
    • “It’s literally not even halfway in and I’m like: ‘This is dumb. I hate this. I don’t know why I’m here.’” — Madison (09:50)

2. Never Have I Ever: Tour Life Edition

Timestamps: 10:43–20:02

• Mistaken Identity: All have been confused for other players, notably Coco for “almost every black player—Serena, Venus, Sloane, Taylor, you name it” (11:20).
• DMs to Celebrities:
  • Coco admits to sending a bald-filter pic to a TikTok influencer at 16 (12:55–13:51).
  • Jess: DMed Kevin Jonas about a concert, got a response (13:54).
  • Jenny: DMed Josh Allen several times, "no response, never will" (14:27).
• Forgetting Essentials: Credentials and rackets left behind. Coco tells the French Open racket story—entered court with zero rackets due to nerves and a heavy water bottle-laden bag (15:26–16:44).
  • “I open one and I’m like, that’s weird, no rackets. I open the other and there’s no rackets.” — Coco (16:36)
• Other Admission Highlights: Sleeping through alarms, strategizing prize money spending (sofa-per-round motivation!), binge-watching entire TV seasons, cringing at own interviews, and champagne-popping nerves.

3. Escape Room Bonds & Team USA Camaraderie

Timestamps: 21:18–26:17

• United Cup Memories:
  • Massive team bonding, “Mama Dez” dubbed the team bonder. Escape rooms were central, with Taylor Fritz “always wanting to be the guy to finish the room,” but only succeeding once (21:33).
  • Group reminisces about Rome’s Wonderland escape room and a failed zombie escape.
  • Running Joke: Desirae’s “bluffing” in escape rooms—pointing at the wrong clues (23:20–23:47).
    • “We call her bluff because she runs around the room and she points stuff out, and she’s like, ‘This is it!’ And we’re like, ‘That’s the light switch.’” — Madison (23:20)

4. Coco’s 2025 Season Reflections

Timestamps: 24:40–25:04

• Favorite Season Moments: Winning a Grand Slam and United Cup; emphasis on team fun and the importance of starting seasons with bonding and positivity (24:49).

5. Off-Season Highlights & Tennis Kit Talk

Timestamps: 26:19–32:21

• Coco on Off-Season: Attending the Camp Flog Gnaw festival. Flew to LA twice due to rainouts, demonstrating commitment to fun (26:26).

• Tennis Fashion & Kit Design:

  • Wimbledon corset outfit (loved but lost R1 so it "didn't really get seen"), French Open leather-jacket look.
  • Coco details the creative process: mood boards with New Balance, testing for playability (29:42–30:29).
  • Sometimes says no: “I’ve refused to wear something, yeah.” (31:43)

• Favorite Fits According to Hosts:

  • “Australian Open outfit with the cutouts” — Madison
  • “French Open, not cropped for once” — Jessica

6. Ranking & Stereotyping Top American Men (Light-Hearted)

Timestamps: 33:30–39:49

• Who’s Most Stressed, Competitive, Best-Dressed…?
  • Most Stressed Pre-Match: Taylor Fritz (serious) (34:51).
  • Biggest Crowd-Lover: Frances Tiafoe (“Not even secretly,” loves celebrity attention, knows where everyone sits) (35:16–35:46).
  • Most Competitive at Games: Taylor (“Every time. Competition.”) (36:30–36:39).
  • Most Likely to Forget Credentials: Frances, “He also forgot his rackets this year, right?” (37:09).
  • Who Would Struggle Most with Negative TikTok Comments?: Ben Shelton — “He’s like that meme: ‘And I took that personally.’” (37:32).

7. Coco or No Go: What’s Cool?

Timestamps: 40:04–48:57

Rapid-fire Gen-Z “approved or not”:

• Posting stories no caption? “Coco.”
• TikTok photo dumps? Not for real, unless as a joke.
• Voice notes? Now approved because of texting and driving (42:00).
• Reading comments after a loss? Should be “no,” but “I like to reply and then don’t post.” (42:18)
• “Turning read receipts on?” Petty but powerful move just for boyfriend during a fight. (43:32)
• Double texting? “I do it. I don’t care.” (43:51)
• Hard launch/soft launch relationships? Soft launch is more demure; hard launch = full face posted (44:00–44:42)
• Wearing tennis clothes off-court? Hard no, unless working out; gentle roast of Jenny for doing it (46:57)
• Sunglasses indoors? Not a fan unless avoiding recognition, but feels weird. (47:23)
• Filming public TikToks? Used to, now finds it cringey; “hate the idea of someone watching me film.” (48:26)
• Use of terms like “gyat”? No go; “we thought we were being cool.” (45:53–46:11)

8. Who Am I?: Tennis Trivia Game

Timestamps: 49:36–53:55

• Recap on last week’s answer (Dinara Safina), banter about Desirae’s wild guesses.
• Coco gives clues (find me at the zoo, aced by a slow server, same city as rappers Lotto/Young Thug). Fun group chat as they all try and mostly succeed at guessing.

9. Fan Q&A

Timestamps: 54:03–59:51

• Barilla Pasta: No longer sponsored, but Coco still buys it—“that’s how you know it’s real” (55:08).
• Going to the Movies with Jess: Still hasn’t happened, ongoing joke—“Jess is on my hit list.” (55:48–56:53)
• Doubles Strategy with Each Host:
  • With Jess: “If we returned well we won. If not, lost.”
  • With Des: “Just try not to hit me, set up her backhand and lobs, I’ll hit overheads.”
  • With Maddie: “She serves big, I clean up at the net.”
  • With Jenny: “Serve and volley, your kick would throw people off.”
    (57:29–58:49)
• Best Drill for Improvement:
  • Two-on-ones for fitness and ball-striking; hand feeds for touch and technique (59:15).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Coco’s Spiked Hot Chocolate Mishap:
  “I thought she was using a mug and it was a shot glass, so I poured the wrong amount.” (02:22)

• On Being Mistaken for Other Players:
  “Almost every, like, black player. Serena, Venus, Sloane, Taylor, you name it.” — Coco (11:20)

• Reliving the Forgotten Rackets Story:
  “I go in court with six rackets. I open one and I’m like, that’s weird, no rackets… I try to call my coach and the ref is like, ‘you can’t do that.’” — Coco (16:36)

• On Champagne Popping Anxiety:
  “The first time I popped champagne was this year, United Cup, and Taylor Fritz had to show me how.” (20:33)

• Tennis Fashion Design:
  “We take a bunch of magazines, Pinterest and stuff… I staple on the wall what I like for each slam… I have to make sure [the outfit] is playable.” — Coco (29:42–30:29)

• Trolling and Honesty in Friendships:
  “You have to troll Jenny at some point.” — Jessica (49:33)

Episode Highlights by Timestamp

• 01:17 – Coco joins; preseason check-in.
• 01:49–10:39 – “Unforced Error” stories (lots of laughs, travel mishaps, training pain).
• 10:43–20:02 – “Never Have I Ever” game (mistaken identities, DMs, rackets forgotten, post-match superstitions).
• 21:18–26:17 – Escape room stories, United Cup team tales.
• 26:19–32:21 – Off-season fun, music festivals, tennis kit design and fashion runway.
• 33:30–39:49 – Playfully rating/ranking male American players’ on-tour energy and habits.
• 40:04–48:57 – “Coco or No Go?”: fashion, technology, slang, confidence — Gen Z court judgments.
• 49:36–53:55 – “Who Am I?” tennis trivia game.
• 54:03–59:51 – Fan questions (pasta sponsorship, movie invites, doubles strategy, best practice drills).

Tone & Takeaways

The episode is fast-paced, mischievous, and intimate—full of giggles, irreverence, and inside-tennis jokes that pull listeners into the friend group’s world. Coco is candid, witty, and game to share everything from embarrassing moments to her approach to designing tennis kits and navigating internet culture. The hosts allow each other space for honesty, teasing, and uplifting moments, shining light on the supportive, sometimes silly, realities of WTA life.

For New & Returning Listeners

If you want candid, funny, and authentic insight into life on tour—plus the lighter side of professional sports—this is a can’t-miss episode. Coco’s chemistry with the group serves up top-tier storytelling and generational tennis wisdom.

[End of Summary]