Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton engage in a fun hair banter ahead of Madrid Open campaign

American tennis stars Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton have engaged in some amusing social media banter about their hair.

The two teenagers will compete in the ongoing 2023 Madrid Open. Gauff's campaign will begin on Thursday (April 27) against Irene Burillo Escorihuela, while Shelton's will start a day later. His opponent is yet to be confirmed.

Ben Shelton took to Instagram before beginning his campaign in the Spanish capital to post pictures of himself practicing on a clay court and honing his skills. He captioned the post:

"See you tomorrow." (Translated from Spanish)

Coco Gauff then commented on her compatriot's post, joking that his hair was too long to fit in the frame.

"Hair so long it can’t even fit in the pic," Gauff wrote.

Shelton had a comeback prepared for Gauff's remark, jokingly stating that the former French Open runner-up's hair touched her ankles.

"@cocogauff urs goes down to ur ankles so I don’t wanna hear it," Shelton wrote.

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Coco Gauff optimistic about a great clay season despite an early Miami Open exit

Coco Gauff pictured at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier - USA v Austria: Day Two.

Coco Gauff has had a mixed 2023 season so far.

She won the ASB Classic before being knocked out in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Following that, she reached the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open and the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Gauff then competed at Indian Wells, where she was defeated in the quarterfinals by Aryna Sabalenka. At the Miami Open, her run was cut short in the third round. The teenager was then seen competing in the Stuttgart Open, where she lost in the fourth round.

However, her early exit from the hard court tournament in Miami, a surface she is quite adept at, did not appear to shake her confidence.

Gauff stated in a press conference that while she didn't have a great run in the WTA 1000 tournament, she is hoping to have an even better clay season than she did last year. In 2022, the American admirably reached the French Open finals.

"Taking in what I've done on the hard court season, I think, will help me into the clay season because last year, I didn't have a great start, and that clay season turned it around," Coco Gauff said.

"Even though this tournament didn't go how I wanted, I would say I had a decent start to the year. I'm hoping I can have an even better clay season than last year," she added.

Gauff will hope to record a comfortable win over Irene Burillo Escorihuela on Thursday to kickstart her 2023 Madrid Open campaign.