Around the Madrid grounds: A new hobby 'Among Us', a second home and more

MADRID -- For World No. 3 Coco Gauff, exploring cities and finding a new hobbies has become a must while traveling on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz

With COVID-19 occurring shortly after her 2019 breakout season, Gauff founded herself in a simple habit of going to site for her matches, returning to the hotel, ordering room service and repeating.

As time has gone on, she's made an effort to enjoy the city she's in with some of her friends on tour, as well as take on new hobbies. 

"I think it's been super important," Gauff said after her second-round win Friday. "I started off on tour, then COVID immediately happened, and I got into this rut of just only being in the hotel room. It was depressing, just match, hotel, match, hotel, room service, all that.

"Now I force myself to go out or do something and interact with other people."

In Madrid, she's spent time exploring the Spanish capital with Eva Lys and her doubles partner Robin Montgomery. As for hobbies, they're ever-changing with Gauff, who's constantly phasing in and out of things she enjoys to do at tournamens.

"I'm one of those people, I'll lock in for it for a couple weeks and then not," Gauff laughed. "I was crocheting a lot, and then I stopped. Then I was reading a lot, and then I stopped.

"Now I'm doing online puzzles with my friends and playing Among Us, so we'll see how long that lasts and then I'll probably try to find something else. I'm always looking for something to distract my brain, and I I've been thinking about going back to college now. I'm kind of bored, so we'll see."

The two-time Grand Slam champion said she's pretty good at Among Us, an online game that requires players to use social deduction to figure out who is an 'impostor.' 

"I'm actually really good to the point where even when I'm innocent, people think I'm an impostor," Gauff laughed. "I'm kind of good at lying. I don't lie a lot in real life, but in the games, I'm really good at lying."

Gauff, a finalist in Madrid last year, will face Sorana Cirstea in the third round on Sunday. 

Zheng takes in the Spanish crowd

For Zheng Qinwen, La Caja Mágica and Madrid has become a second home in some ways.

With her coach, Pere Riba, being from Spain, she feels the support and with a win over World No. 2 Elena Rybakina, she'd guarantee her best finish at the event. 

"I really wanted to win the first match here in Madrid because they treat me very well," Zheng said to press after her win on Friday. "It's like my second home here beside of China. Really, I think they treat me same way when I was at China Open."

Zheng has slowly been getting back into form after recovering from a right-elbow injury, and during that recovery, she took Spanish lessons as a way to pass up time. 

Ahead of her match vs. Rybakina, the Chinese No. 1 will be practicing at Estadio Bernabéu, home to Real Madrid Football Club, which has installed a red-clay court for some of the tournament's stars to train on. 

A must for Fernandez

For Leylah Fernandez, once the news came that the tournament was installing a practice court at Estadio Bernabéu, home to Real Madrid Football Club, the opportunity to the train there was a no-brainer.

Simply, it did not matter if the conditions were the same as La Caja Mágica or that it was in a different district of Madrid, the avid football fan wanted a feel of one of the most iconic sports venues in the world.

"It was an incredible experience," Fernandez said. "When we first saw the news that they were going to build a court at the Bernabéu, all of us and in the team, we said, 'We're gonna get our hour in that court.'

"I don't care if the court is good, if it's the same as here or not, we're gonna get that experience in, and I'm glad that we were able to do it early on in the tournament where I got to enjoy the atmosphere, kick a couple of the soccer balls into the net, feel that emotion, the history behind the stadium were so many legends, so many players have competed there."

Even before coming to Madrid after her time in Stuttgart, Fernandez had to make a pit stop in Manchester to watch one of her favorite clubs, Manchester City, take on Arsenal in the Premier League. They noticed the matchup on the schedule, and knowing she had a first-round bye in Madrid, she and her father took advantage of the opportunity. 

"We're like, 'Oh, there's an opportunity for us. Let's just take it. Let's have fun,'" Fernandez said. "I had a good week of tennis. I played a lot of matches, a lot of hours. It was a good way to disconnect, and that whole atmosphere to see both teams battling out on the field, on the pitch, it was so beautiful to watch."