The tennis fandom has long been speculating on the relationship status of American tennis sensation Coco Gauff. Despite Gauff not mentioning anyone by name, fans have often linked her with fellow US national and tennis player Ben Shelton. Now recent incident between them during the Eisenhower Cup clash grabbed the attention of fans.

Both players have directly and indirectly made it clear that they are not dating each other, but this hasn’t stopped fans from speculating about their equation with each other.

Ben Shelton has referred to Coco Gauff as a “little sister”

Recently, while Ben Shelton was waiting for Frances Tiafoe’s and Stefanos Tsitsipas’s matches at the Eisenhower Cup, he face-timed the 2023 US Open champion and was happily showing her around the court. This got social media buzzing again with their dating rumors.

Fans had been speculating about Coco Gauff’s secret boyfriend ever since she mentioned talking to him before her US Open final win in 2023. She had shared she talked to him the night before the final, “Honestly, I just called my boyfriend, and I told him let’s talk until it’s time to go to sleep so we spoke until 1 am and then I went to sleep,” she said. This led fans to believe that she may be seeing fellow tennis star Shelton. But Gauff’s revelation about his secret partner’s occupation put an end to this rumor from her end. Gauff is rumored to be dating musician Jalen Sera.

She told Vogue, “He’s a very nice guy. He’s in school now. He’s about to apply for music school. He wants to be an actor and he plays the guitar.” The rumors of a relationship between Gauff and Shelton had continued to do rounds, despite the ATP star clearing the air as well. Last year, he addressed the Coco Gauff rumors again in an interview with GQ.

The 21-year-old ATP star said their bond went beyond friendship but said, “No! Not a big sister, not at all. Coco is a little sister to me!” However, his latest actions at the court led to fans again linking them together.

Tennis fans react to Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton’s fun equation

Looking into their phone conversation, a lot of tennis fans were curious about what was going on between the two. A fan was bemused and asked if it was really them facetiming each other.

Last year, Shelton confirmed his relationship with professional-level heptathlete Anna Well in November 2021 through a post on Instagram while Coco Gauff is rumored to be dating musician Jalen Sera. Still, some fans are speculating otherwise. In this case, one fan was convinced the two were dating each other.

A similar sentiment was shared by another fan wondering about the equation between the two.

This isn’t the first time, Gauff and Shelton’s antics have led fans to think they might be together. During the Madrid Open 2023, Gauff and Shelton engaged in playful banter on social media. Shelton uploaded a picture of him training on the clay courts. Gauff commented on Shelton’s long hair. Then Shelton hit back and mentioned Gauff’s long hair and the two laughed it off.

Another fan believed that the facetiming incident was not helping put their dating allegations to rest.

Even though Shelton and Gauff are dating different people, fans haven’t stopped linking them together. Still, the two have a solid friendship and continue to enjoy the occasional banter. That said, what are your thoughts on Shelton facetiming Gauff?

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