PARIS, France — Coco Gauff, an Atlanta native and one of the brightest stars in tennis, will have a shining moment this week on the brightest of stages.
Gauff was announced Wednesday morning as a flag bearer for Team USA. She joins LeBron James with that distinction, and is the first tennis player ever selected as a flag bearer for the U.S.
The Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday, July 26, with coverage beginning at noon ET with a preview show on 11Alive. The ceremony itself starts at 1:30 p.m. ET. NBC will then do an enhanced encore broadcast later that evening at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The announcement was shared first with NBC's TODAY. Christopher Eubanks, another Atlanta native tennis star who's long been close with Gauff and her family, told TODAY in a statement hat he was "incredibly proud of Coco."
" I know how great she is as a tennis player, but more importantly, how great she is as a person,” Eubanks said. "I don’t think there is anyone more deserving of this honor and I’m excited to see her carry the flag as she leads our U.S. delegation in the opening ceremony."
Gauff, 20, is the reigning U.S. Open champion and most recently reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. She also went to the semifinals this year at the French Open and Australian Open.
Gauff's father is a former basketball player for Georgia State, and she spent her younger childhood growing up in Atlanta before the family moved to Florida.
