There are diehard Gauff fans, and then there's Hans in Beijing

There's something special about Coco Gauff in Beijing.

She loves playing here -- as pretty much all players do, to be fair -- and feels especially calm and composed, at ease. That was evident in 2024, when she won the China Open, and it's been clear so far this year, as she's won three straight matches to reach the quarterfinals.

She's also been showered with love by the fans, to the tune of nicknames and gifts and roaring applause. (Of all the gifts she's received, she especially loved the stuffed animals, and the spoon and fork set that had her face engraved on it. Man, these fans are creative and committed.)

But one fan, in particular, has stood out among the rest.

His name is Hans, and he's made quite an impression on the World No. 3 this week.

"There's a fan named Hans," the 21-year-old said after her hard-fought three-set win over Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. "He's going to see this because he sees every interview of mine. I'll probably see him tomorrow. He's so sweet. He's been here since the first day. He gifted me CDs because he knows I like to listen to physical forms of music.

"He made a Love Island poster for me. He gave me a letter the other day. I think for me, he's the most touching fan that I've met here. He's always so kind and respectful."

And Hans isn't just in it for himself. Other fans who couldn't make it to the China National Tennis Center have entrusted him to act as their courier. (There's that dogged commitment, again.)

"He helps out other fans that couldn't make it that give him stuff to sign for me," the French Open champion added. "He brings it back to them. I think that's so nice. He's not only giving stuff for himself, but for people that couldn't make it."

Into the quarterfinals in Beijing for the third consecutive year, Gauff will play Eva Lys next. Lys, ranked 66th in the world, is into her first career WTA 1000 quarterfinals -- prior to this week she had never advanced past the third round -- and upset Elena Rybakina this week for her first-ever Top 10 win.

With Gauff's win over Bencic on Tuesday, she became the third player (after Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek) to qualify for the year-end WTA Finals in Riyadh.

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