Tennis champion Coco Gauff is a “Heated Rivalry” fan.
Following a gushing review of HBO Max’s queer hockey romance series on social media, the American sports star said, “I’m their number one fan, I think.”
Gauff’s comments came during her Australian Open media day press conference. “I just kind of saw people talking about a hockey show, a gay hockey show. That interested me,” she said, according to tennis.com. “I was like, ‘Oh, six episodes, perfect.’ I just dove, like, right in. Obviously, there’s some nice spicy scenes. It’s such a beautiful love story. I think that was like the main thing.”
“Heated Rivalry,” adapted from Rachel Reid’s Game Changer novel series, stars Connor Story and Hudson Williams as Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, respectively, as professional hockey players who fall in love over the course of a secret decade-long affair.
In an interview with the Tennis Channel, Gauff said, “The storyline, I think is so relevant, I think a lot of people maybe can relate. I think that was really cool. The tension, obviously, the sexual tension and then the romantic tension. I love the trope that enemies – well, they aren’t real enemies – but enemies to lovers, but they both were denying their feelings. I don’t know. I just eat stuff up like that.”
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Gauff then invited Storrie and Williams to watch her play: “Hey, Connor and Hudson, my name is Coco. I am tennis’ number one ‘Heated Rivalry’ fan. Please come to my match and watch me play…Love you guys.”
She’s also been urging fellow tennis players to check out the series. “I wanted the world to know about this show,” Gauff said. “I’ve been telling everyone. I told Jess Pegula and [Giuliana Olmos] to watch it today. We’ll see how much of the WTA I can convince to watch the show.”
Meanwhile, “Heated Rivalry” creators Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady attended the LA Kings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins NHL game in Los Angeles. The two received cheers and applause when they were shown – along with scenes from the show – on the Jumbotron above the rink.
“Heated Rivalry” star Robbie G.K., who plays Kip on the show, attended the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers playoff game on Saturday. A video of the actor on the field was posted on the Seahawks’ Instagram grid along with the caption, “@robsgk in the cottage.”
From Variety US