Coco Gauff: a young tennis star who has conquered the world of sports

Coco Gauff has already achieved what many athletes can only dream of, and she is just getting started. At only 21 years old, the tennis phenomenon has risen to the top to become one of the brightest stars in sports, all while maintaining a grounded perspective. «Sometimes my dad says, 'You can afford to treat yourself.' But I grew up in a middle-class family, so even necessary things like flights and hotel rooms seem very expensive to me», - she told The Guardian in an interview before the 2023 Wimbledon tournament.

Since making a splash as a young sensation at Wimbledon, Gauff continues to showcase her abilities on the court, winning her first Grand Slam at the 2023 US Open and earning praise from tennis legends such as Chris Evert, who predicted: «She will win a Grand Slam… it will happen with her sooner or later».

That prediction has already come true, and now Coco shows no signs of slowing down. Here’s what you need to know about the champion who is rewriting the future of tennis.

Born on March 13, 2004, Cori «Coco» Gauff grew up in Atlanta. She became interested in tennis at the age of four, watching Serena Williams win the Australian Open in 2009. She started playing at six, and at seven, her family moved to Delray Beach, Florida, where she had better training opportunities. Coco attributes her victory at the «Little Mo» among eight-year-olds in national competitions to the moment she realized she wanted to be a tennis player when she grew up. «I loved tennis», - she said in 2020, according to The Guardian. «At first, I wasn’t very interested because when I was younger, I didn’t want to train at all. I just wanted to play with friends. When I turned eight, I played in 'Little Mo,' and after that, I decided to do it for the rest of my life».

In 2017, Coco listed her favorite players in the following order: «Serena, Venus [Williams], Madison Keys, and Sloane Stephens», - she said, according to ESPN. Coco first met Serena at the «Little Mo» tournament in New York, and they met again in 2015 during a Delta commercial shoot in West Palm Beach. «It was fun, a great experience», - Coco told ESPN. «She has always been my favorite player. I could hit balls to her. I also met her in Nice, France [at Patrick Mouratoglou’s training center]».

At the age of ten, Coco began training at the Mouratoglou academy in France, led by Serena’s longtime coach. The training seemed to pay off. In 2014, she won the USTA national clay court tournament for 12-year-olds. She was 10 years and 3 months old at the time, becoming the youngest champion in history.

Coco turned professional in 2018 and made her WTA debut at the Miami Open, according to ESPN. She won her first match before losing in the second round. Her big breakthrough came the following year. After losing in the French Open qualifying, Coco was given the opportunity to play at Wimbledon after her wild card application was approved. She went through qualifying and defeated Venus Williams before eventually losing in the fourth round to the eventual champion, Simona Halep. «I wouldn’t be here without you», - Coco told Venus after her Wimbledon victory. Venus already had four Grand Slam wins when Coco was born in 2004.

Thanks to this performance, Coco reached 141st place in the world. She continued her success at the 2019 US Open, reaching the third round where she was defeated by world No. 1 and defending champion Naomi Osaka.

After making waves at Wimbledon and the US Open, it wasn’t long before Coco secured her first WTA tournament victory. She won the 2019 Linz Open in Austria, defeating Jelena Ostapenko in the final. She was 15 years old. She won her second WTA tournament in May 2021, defeating Wang Qiang in straight sets.

In 2022, she reached the final of the French Open, where she lost to Iga Swiatek in straight sets