Breanna Stewart takes inspiration from Coco Gauff in WNBA MVP acceptance speech

Coco Gauff's US Open triumph has crossover appeal for even other elite athletes. Take newly-crowned WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart as an example.

On Tuesday, Stewart became the first New York Liberty player in the nearly 30-year history of the U.S. women's basketball league to be voted MVP by the national media after a record-setting first year with the team. And despite being a full decade older than Gauff, the star forward addressed said she took inspiration from the signature line from the 19-year-old's US Open victory speech upon being presented with her award.

"Coco, what you said when you won the US Open stuck with me," Stewart, 29, said, addressing Gauff directly in her acceptance speech.

"I do my best to carry myself with grace and be a great teammate. I want to be an example to [her 2-year-old daughter with her wife, Marta Xargay] Ruby about what it means to approach life with the humility and grit necessary to lead teams, to help others be great, and to win at things that matter the most."

After beating Aryna Sabalenka to win the US Open last month, Gauff now-famously thanked "the people who didn't believe in [her]" for fueling her on the way to a long-expected crowning moment.

"I tried my best to carry this with grace and I've been doing my best," Gauff said on-court in Arthur Ashe Stadium as she held the US Open trophy. "So honestly, to those who thought [they] were putting water on my fire, you're really adding gas to it. And now I'm really burning so bright right now."

While Gauff took her first Grand Slam trophy home from New York, Stewart hopes to bring a first WNBA championship trophy to New York at the conclusion of the playoffs next month.