Tony Dungy Celebrates Coco Gauff ‘Praying’ After US Open Win
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former NFL coach Tony Dungy clarified that US Open winner Coco Gauff was praying following her win on Sunday, not simply “soaking it all in,” as SportsCenter reported.
After her win, the 19-year-old champion kneeled, bent her head and placed her hands together in prayer.
“I hate to break this to you SportsCenter but Coco Gauff was not ‘soaking it all in’ at this moment,” Dungy tweeted in response to ESPN’s SportsCenter. “She was praying. She has been very open about her Christian faith in the past. It seems pretty obvious what she is doing here.”
Many Twitter users echoed the coach’s thoughts in SportsCenter’s post about Gauff.
Shortly after her win, an interviewer asked Gauff, “What does it mean to be the first Grand Slam title on Home soil?”
“Oh my goodness. It means so much to me. I feel like I’m in shock,” Gauff said. “That French Open loss was a heartbreak. I realized God puts you through trials. This makes this moment even sweeter than I could imagine. I don’t pray for results. I just ask that I get the strength to give it my all. Whatever happens happens. I’m so blessed in this life.”
She added that her faith “has been so important” throughout her tennis career.
“I don’t pray for results,” Gauff continued. “I just ask that I get the strength to give it my all. Whatever happens happens. I’m so blessed in this life.”
Gauff is the “first teenager to be victorious since Serena Williams’ 1999 win,” Faithwire reported.
Last month, Movieguide® wrote about Gauff’s win at the Mubadala Citi DC Open women’s final:
‘First, I’d like to thank my Father, God for this,’ Gauff said. ‘After losing in first-round Wimbledon, it was a tough situation. You know, a lot of prayer and a lot of support from my church family. So thank you to Him and those who support me.’
…Sunday’s win was not the first time Gauff has been public about her faith. In a New York Times Magazine piece from 2019, she revealed that she prays before every match, a practice she picked up from her father.
Like Gauff, Dungy is also a strong Christian. Movieguide® recently reported Dungy’s comments from his appearance on I AM SECOND:
‘My favorite passage in the Bible is where Christ says, ‘What would it profit a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?’ Dungy said. ‘That was the thing I always wanted to tell my players. Don’t put this game first. Don’t make football everything in your life. How we relate to each other, how we live, what you have in your heart for eternity, how you respond to the Lord—that’s the most important thing. This game will take care of itself.’
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