{"id":416542,"date":"2026-01-19T10:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/416542\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T10:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:29:09","slug":"tennis-champ-coco-gauff-invites-connor-storrie-hudson-williams-to-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/416542\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis Champ Coco Gauff Invites Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams to Match"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTennis champion Coco Gauff<\/a> is a \u201cHeated Rivalry<\/a>\u201d fan.<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing a gushing review of HBO Max\u2019s queer hockey romance series on social media<\/a>, the American sports star said, \u201cI\u2019m their No. 1 fan, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGauff\u2019s comments came during her Australian Open media day press conference. \u201cI just kind of saw people talking about a hockey show, a\u00a0gay\u00a0hockey show. That interested me,\u201d she said, according to tennis.com<\/a>. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, six episodes, perfect.\u2019 I just dove, like, right in. Obviously, there\u2019s some nice spicy scenes. It\u2019s such a beautiful love story. I think that was like the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHeated Rivalry,\u201d adapted from Rachel Reid\u2019s Game Changer novel series<\/a>, stars Connor Story and Hudson Williams<\/a> as Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, respectively, as professional hockey players who fall in love over the course of a secret decade-long affair.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn an interview with the Tennis Channel<\/a>, Gauff said, \u201cThe storyline, I think is so relevant, I think a lot of people maybe can relate. I think that was really cool. The tension, obviously, the sexual tension and then the romantic tension. I love the trope that enemies \u2013 well, they aren\u2019t real enemies \u2013 but enemies to lovers, but they both were denying their feelings. I don\u2019t know. I just eat stuff up like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGauff then invited Storrie and Williams to watch her play: \u201cHey, Connor and Hudson, my name is Coco. I am tennis\u2019 number one \u2018Heated Rivalry\u2019 fan. Please come to my match and watch me play\u2026Love you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe\u2019s also been urging fellow tennis players to check out the series. \u201cI wanted the world to know about this show,\u201d Gauff said. \u201cI\u2019ve been telling everyone. I told Jess\u00a0Pegula and [Giuliana Olmos] to watch it today. We\u2019ll see how much of the WTA I can convince to watch the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d creators Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady<\/a> attended the LA Kings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins NHL game in Los Angeles. The two received cheers and applause when they were shown \u2013 along with scenes from the show \u2013 on the Jumbotron above the rink<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d star Robbie G.K.<\/a>, who plays Kip on the show, attended the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers playoff game on Saturday. A video of the actor on the field was posted on the Seahawks\u2019 Instagram<\/a> grid along with the caption, \u201c@robsgk<\/a> in the cottage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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