Who Is Teenage Tennis Phenom Coco Gauff?
Coco Gauff has wanted to be the greatest of all time since she was 8 years old. Alastair Grant / AP Photo
Coco Gauff already has made a name for herself in women’s tennis.
After stunning Venus Williams in straight sets at Wimbledon 2019 in her first match at the All England Club, the 15-year-old Gauff became the youngest player to win a match since 1991. She reached the fourth round of the tournament before falling to Simona Halep, the eventual champion.
Gauff is a superstar in the making with a big dream. Here are 17 facts you need to know about the girl who wants to be the greatest of all time.
Cori Gauff Was Born on March 13, 2004.
Cori “Coco” Gauff entered Wimbledon as the 313th ranked player in the world, no small feat given the fact she was born roughly halfway through the George W. Bush presidential campaign.
The average cost of a gallon of gas was $1.74 in the United States in 2004. Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg that year. Yelp joined the social media sphere. And Google launched Gmail as tech took off.
Feeling old yet?
Coco Was the Youngest Player to Ever Qualify for Wimbledon.
Gauff was 15 years, 122 days when she made the main draw at Wimbledon.
She still needed a wild-card spot and to win three qualifying matches in the weeks before Wimbledon just to qualify for the major.
Gauff also attempted to qualify for the main draw of the French Open and won her first qualifying match before bowing out in the Round of 64 to Kaja Juvan of Slovakia.
The last 15-year-old to qualify for the Wimbledon main draw was Jennifer Capriati, who also reached the fourth round during her Cinderella run in 1991.
She Has Been Compared to Her Idols, Venus and Serena Williams.
Gauff thanked Venus Williams after defeating her 6-4, 6-2 and credited both Venus and Serena Williams for her reaching that point.
“I told her, ‘Thank you for everything that you did, I wouldn’t be here without you,’ ” Gauff said after the win. “I always wanted to tell her that.”
“They’re the reason I wanted to pick up a racket,” Gauff added about Venus and Serena. “I met them both, and they’re both super-kind people, and I’m just super happy and thankful they chose to play tennis.”
Like the Williams sisters, Gauff, who is 5-foot-10, has been coached by her father and has garnered comparisons to them.
“She reminds me of Venus, her body and everything,” Serena told The Guardian before the first-round match. “She’s a fantastic young lady. She works hard. Every time I see her out there working, training her and her dad, it reminds me of the time I was out there with my dad.”
Celebrities Took Notice of Her Run.
Aside from the tennis world, rapper Jaden Smith (son of Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith), Michelle Obama, rapper Snoop Dogg, actor Samuel L. Jackson, Philadelphia 76ers forward Joel Embiid and others shared social media praise for Coco Gauff’s incredible performance in England, specifically after she survived two match points and rallied from a set down to defeat Polona Hercog in the third round on July 5.
“Shoutout to @CocoGauff You’re The One,” Smith tweeted.
“Coco is terrific,” Obama tweeted.
“Bruh watching Coco Gauff is low key like watching game 7 #NiceWin,” Embiid shared.