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MEDLEY, Fla. — Unrivaled and WNBA star Dearica Hamby is going to have a tough time planning out future birthdays for her children.
Hamby surprised her daughter, Amaya, for her eighth birthday by taking her to play tennis with star Coco Gauff. Amaya also received sneakers from her favorite WNBA player, Sabrina Ionescu.
“It was a really neat experience, so thank you to Coco,” Hamby told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “My daughter kinda just blacked out when she met her. I knew it was going to happen. She’s done that with her and Sabrina. Now, she thinks her and Coco are best friends.”
Hamby first met Gauff at the Paris Olympics, where they took a selfie during the opening ceremonies. “About to be the coolest mom in the world,” Hamby wrote when she posted their photo on social media.
Hamby’s daughter got to meet Gauff for the first time last Friday, when the 20-year-old tennis star and Unrivaled investor attended games to watch the new women’s basketball league.
Amaya was a little starstruck before realizing she was spending her birthday with her favorite tennis player. Hamby said she tried to drop some hints about the surprise. It didn’t help they were listening to Taylor Swift songs on the way to Gauff’s practice.
“I told her we’re going to meet somebody, and she’s like ‘Taylor Swift?’” Hamby said.
Hamby has some time before her son, Legend, who is turning 2 next month, wants to meet a celebrity for his birthday. But it’s clear she must raise the bar for her daughter moving forward.
“Now, I have to work on Taylor Swift. Maybe her 10th birthday I can make something happen,” Hamby said. “That’s next on my mommy list. If I can do that, then she’s done. She gets no more birthdays out of me.”
Hamby posted photos and videos of her daughter with Gauff on Wednesday, and her slew of birthday gifts, which included two new pairs of Nike sneakers from Ionescu.
Hamby saw new colors of Ionescu’s shoes were coming out, and told Ionescu she was going to get them for Amaya. Ionescu told Hamby, “I’ll just send them” for her.
“Sabrina knows Amaya just adores her,” Hamby said.
Hamby, 31, won a WNBA title with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022, and will enter her second season with the Los Angeles Sparks later this year.
She won bronze during the women’s 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the Paris Games last summer.
She’s the third-leading scorer in Unrivaled, averaging 21.2 points for the Vinyl (2-4), and will participate in the league’s midseason 1-on-1 tournament next week.
