Coco Gauff reveals what Katie Ledecky said to her in the elevator when they met at the Olympic village

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Coco Gauff disclosed a conversation she had with fellow US Olympian Katie Ledecky ahead of the Paris Games.

The tennis World number two is experiencing being part of an Olympic Games for the first time in her career.

She was due to go to the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 but was forced to withdraw after contracting coronavirus before she was due to fly to Japan.

Now aged 20 and the flag bearer for the USA, Gauff is in an ideal position to claim a medal at the Olympics while playing on clay, a surface she is very comfortable on.

What did Katie Ledecky say to Coco Gauff?

One of the many reasons athletes enjoy going to the Olympic Games is having the chance to meet competitors from other sports from different countries around the world.

The Olympics provides fans with a unique opportunity to see sporting crossovers they perhaps would not witness anywhere else.

Gauff provided an example of this when she disclosed a conversation she had with swimmer and seven-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky in an elevator at the Olympic village.

“My favourite people I have spoken to so far are the US women’s gymnastic team. I am a fan of all of them and meeting Simone Biles was really cool. I met Katie Ledecky in the elevator and that was really cool,” the US Open champion told reporters.

“I saw her in the dinning hall and didn’t want to come up to her. But she was super nice and she was like ‘I saw you guys, don’t be scared to come up’.

“She always wears a hat, so I don’t think a lot of people recognise her with the hat on, but I did! They were my two favourite people that I have met so far.”

What is Coco Gauff’s first match at the Paris Olympic Games?

Gauff has a busy Paris Olympics campaign as she will compete in the singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles events.

Her first match is on Saturday alongside her partner Jessica Pegula, who she has won five doubles titles with on the WTA Tour.

They took on the Australian pair of Daria Saville and Ellen Perez and secured a straight sets victory to progress to round two.

Gauff will commence her singles campaign against another Australian player in Ajla Tomljanovic, who reached the final of the Birmingham Classic in June.