Coco Gauff opens up on her mystery boyfriend – and their ‘super competitive’ summer plans
Coco Gauff has revealed she is no longer single ahead of Wimbledon next month as she gave away her summer plans with her mystery boyfriend.
The 20-year-old American, who has never managed to progress beyond the fourth round on grass, plans to keep herself busy in the coming months with a childhood hobby she shares with her special someone.
“It started because I loved reading as a child and I kind of lost it as I got older,” Gauff said during her media day at the German Open in Berlin this week.
“So initially my goal was to read twelve books, one a month. Then my friend has this thing where he reads the number of books for the year we’re in, so 24 in 2024, 23 in 2023.”
Naturally, Gauff, whose only major title is the 2023 US Open, saw her husband’s daily activity as a challenge she needed.
Coco Gauff, 20, has revealed her new relationship status ahead of Wimbledon next month
Little is known about her boyfriend other than his name – Jalen – and that he lives in Atlanta
“So when he said he was going to read 24, I got super competitive and doubled my goal to match his and I like to try to finish faster than him,” she continued. “I’m two books ahead, so I’m winning now.”
Gauff’s reading list includes books like “Daisy Jones & the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid; “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander; ‘After Dark’ by Haruki Murakami; and Viola Davis’ memoir “Finding Me.”
Little is known about Gauff’s boyfriend other than that his name is Jalen and that he lives in Atlanta.
In April, Gauff said Time magazine that she and Jalen have been dating for about a year.
“This is my first real relationship,” the tennis star noted, adding, “Just to have someone to talk to who isn’t involved in tennis at all gives me a new perspective.”
Jalen has challenged the 2023 US Open winner to get started with reading this summer
A person close to the tennis star who managed to win Jalen over is the mother of his girlfriend: Candi
Jalen has managed to impress a very important person who is close to his girlfriend: her mother, Candi.
“My mom always said, if they’re bad at school, they’re probably bad adults,” Candi said Time. “He’s always been a smart, nice guy.”
However, Gauff has no plans to move in with her partner anytime soon as she still lives with her parents in their Florida home.
“I don’t have a timeline for that,” the world number 2 admitted. “I always say it will happen someday in my twenties.”