Coco Gauff is one of the most talented players on the WTA Tour, and growing up she had two role models to look up to – Venus Williams and Serena Williams.
The legendary Williams sisters inspired millions of kids across America, and while we can see many of them competing professionally, not many have had the success that Coco Gauff has.
The young American recently won her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open and is the highest-ranked American player in tennis. One of the events she won was also the 2023 Cincinnati Masters, which was the biggest title of her career at the time.
At the event, Gauff recorded a video, now released by the Western and Southern Open, in which the teenager talks about how she started playing tennis and how her father, Corey Gauff, guided her into it.
“I wouldn’t say it was like something I asked to do, he just brought it and loved it and then I was hooked on it. I would constantly knock on the walls and the inside of the house. We had a basement and I would knock on The garage door, I just loved playing with it and absolutely loved it.”
Every athlete needs a role model, and almost everyone has one. For Goff, the choice was simple. When she was growing up, Venus and Serena Williams dominated the sport, and the youngster had a chance to see what was possible.
“Then seeing Serena and Venus being so exciting on TV made me want to do something similar. Then it became a part of me and I would say, at eight years old, I really got into it. .” “I loved it. I started when I was six. But I think eight is when I knew I wanted to take it seriously. I was still doing other sports, but I knew tennis was the sport I wanted to continue.”