Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff suffered a disappointing exit from this year’s United Cup, yet their Australian summer has many tournaments left. With a brief pause before the Australian Open starts in Melbourne on January 18, both stars have turned from the pressure of team tennis to a different kind of drama on screen.
During this short rest period, one popular new series has captured their attention, prompting an outpouring of emotion on their social media feeds.
Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka’s Binge-Watch Following United Cup Exit
Gauff and Osaka both led their national teams at the 2026 United Cup, with Gauff representing the United States and Osaka representing Japan. Both nations were eliminated before the finals, giving the players a valuable stretch of rest and practice time ahead of the season’s first Grand Slam.
Away from the match court, Gauff tried out Heated Rivalry, the new hockey romance drama that has quickly built a devoted audience.
The World No. 4 could barely contain her excitement, posting on X on January 9, “heated rivalry…. lemme give you your 10s 🫡 👏🏾,” effectively handing the show full marks in front of her followers.
She followed up with a TikTok reel capturing her stunned reaction after finishing the series and later uploaded an Instagram story that read, “if this show has zero fans then I must be dead,” signalling how deeply the storyline resonated with her.
Osaka soon joined the conversation once she completed the series, sharing on Threads, “I just finished Heated Rivalry,” alongside a meme of a crying figure pulling its hair to convey how overwhelmed she felt.
The four‑time major champion then reposted the update on Instagram with the caption, “I didn’t know I could feel these types of feelings,” highlighting how strongly the drama’s emotional arc had struck her as well.
Heated Rivalry is a Canadian sports romance series created by Jacob Tierney, adapted from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, and centred on rival professional ice‑hockey stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.
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While the show is based on romance in the sports world, Gauff and Osaka will soon be facing high‑stakes moments of their own at Melbourne Park. Osaka arrives as a two‑time Australian Open champion, having lifted the trophy in 2019 and 2021, and remains one of the game’s most dangerous hard‑court players when fully fit and confident.
On the other hand, Gauff, who reached her first Australian Open semifinal in 2024 before losing to defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, returns as the reigning French Open champion and a firmly established top‑five player on the WTA tour.
Both now turn their focus back to tennis, aiming to translate the charged energy into deep runs at the year’s opening major.
