The kids gathered in Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East, tennis shoes laced tight and rackets in hand, unaware they\u2019d soon get a chance to share the court with a champion.<\/p>\n
Coco Gauff, the world No. 3 ranked women’s tennis player and winner of the 2023 U.S. Open and 2025 French Open, arrived at the park on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
She surprised dozens of players from A\u2019s & Aces, a year-round tennis and tutoring program that partners with the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission,\u00a0as she worked with them in a tennis clinic and celebrated the refurbishment of the courts through a U.S. Tennis Association program created after her 2023 U.S. Open victory.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
U.S. Tennis player Coco Gauff keeps her eyes on the ball during her visit to a NORD tennis clinic at Joe Brown Park in New Orleans on Monday, November 24, 2025. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it bounces, you\u2019re safe,\u201d Gauff told the younger kids during a game where they tried to catch a ball hit from the other side of the net.<\/p>\n
Gauff moved through three different courts, eventually making her way to a group of older kids who were powerfully zipping the ball back and forth.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, y\u2019all are hitting for real,\u201d she said, jumping in to join them.<\/p>\n
Kids in the background cheered her on.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, my God!\u201d some yelled as she hustled around, whisking a ball back over to score a point.<\/p>\n
Joe Brown Park has 10 outdoor tennis courts and the USTA program, through the Open Legacy Initiative, spent $110,000 to resurface them and provide new nets and other trappings. The work was completed in May and the courts have been used by adults and kids who are offered free tennis lessons through NORD\u2019s partnership with A\u2019s & Aces.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s an amazing day for the A\u2019s and Aces community that someone like Coco Gauff is coming here to see us and play with the kids. They\u2019ll have this experience for the rest of their lives,\u201d said A\u2019s & Aces Co-founder Anna Monhartova.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis just adds to the importance of the program, making sure that our kids have an opportunity in New Orleans East to play on first class tennis courts,\u201d said NORD CEO Larry Barabino, Jr.<\/p>\n
Gauff, who has won 11 tennis titles, including the two majors, earned $3 million in prize money from her U.S. Open victory. It was matched by the USTA to rehabilitate tennis courts at schools, parks and other public facilities across the U.S., in a nod to Gauff who grew up playing in the community courts of her native Delray Beach, Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jim Ewers, A\u2019s & Aces co-director, lauded Gauff for her in-person visit.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only is she a world class tennis player. She\u2019s a world class human being. For her to take time out of her schedule and be here, holy mackerel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
New Orleans is one of more than 100 facilities chosen by Gauff\u2019s family to receive improvements, starting with her hometown last spring.<\/p>\n
Gauff on Monday said New Orleans holds a special place in her heart, it being the birthplace of her father and former coach Corey Gauff. Her mother, Candi Gauff, attended Xavier University. A host of extended family live in the River Parishes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Orleans is an important community to me,”\u00a0Gauff said.\u00a0“I grew up coming here. I love the culture. I love the food.”<\/p>\n
The event closed out with a brass band and Gauff danced with a group of kids before Kinfolk Brass Band proceeded around the tennis court.<\/p>\n
Gauff followed, umbrella in tow.<\/p>\n
Staff writer Rod Walker contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The kids gathered in Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East, tennis shoes laced tight and rackets in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-311835","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}