The Tonight Show really is, as Jimmy Fallon says, “where the champions go,” with tennis star and newly-crowned French Open winner Coco Gauff making an unannounced appearance tonight.
Gauff surprised the crowd at Tuesday night’s Tonight Show taping, crashing an edition of WePost with her Suzanne-Lenglen cup in hand. Gauff’s cameo tonight marks her first-ever appearance on a late-night talk show.
Defeating the No. 1-ranked Arena Sabalenka, Gauff won the women’s French Open this last weekend—the first American to do so since Serena Williams in 2015. Gauff returned to New York on Sunday, where she has already appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS’ CBS Mornings, and NBC’s Today.
Fallon’s Tonight Show has welcomed tennis stars Stan Wawrinka, Bianca Andreescu, James Blake, and Serena Williams in the past. The show also roped multiple US Open players into a memorable bit in 2019, convincing them to drop nonsensical phrases into actual press interviews.
It’s not unusual for title-winning athletes and coaches of any sport to drop by The Tonight Show with their trophy in tow. In April, UCONN basketball star Paige Bueckers made a surprise visit to show off the national championship trophy.
Gauff’s appearance adds to an already busy Tonight Show tonight. Fallon’s other guests tonight include actors Orlando Bloom and Antonia Gentry, author Edward St. Aubyn, and comedian Yakov Smirnoff—a Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson regular who is returning to the franchise for the first time in 34 years.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon airs on NBC at 11:35pm ET/PT and streams next day on Peacock.
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