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A remarkable performance by Coco Gauff has earned her a spot in the U.S. Open semifinals. Gauff’s impressive success can be attributed to her competitive spirit and level-headed approach, which she has demonstrated throughout the summer.
While her talent is undeniable, much of her success can be attributed to her coaches, Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert; however, her grounded upbringing is all thanks to her parents and inspiration from her grandmother.
“With my grandmother, I’ve learned a lot from her,” Gauff told The Post. “The biggest takeaway is just always to lead with kindness and approach every situation with an open mind and I think what I’ve learned from her is that it’s okay to speak out. It’s okay to speak your truth as long as you do it from a perspective of kindness and appreciation of other people’s emotions.”
Although all eyes are on the teen, and she is the favorite to take home the Grand Slam, her parents ensure she stays true to herself. “My parents, they’re really my support system, helping me remember my clothes and everything,” Gauff said. “My dad is still sending me scouting reports every match. My mom is more so just being mom. My dad just being dad,” she said, referring to Corey and Candi Gauff.
“In sports, it can be difficult sometimes because people forget you’re a person,” Gauff said. “When you lose, they say all types of things about you. It’s important that you really know yourself because it’s very easy to feed into what you should and shouldn’t do when everyone’s giving their opinions. For the most part, I’ve done well with it … because of my family. They’ve always kept me grounded and always set the importance of my self-worth.”
Coco has met high-profile individuals, such as President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama . Nonetheless, she strives to remain grounded despite her fame. “Sometimes you can lose your sense of self in this environment. They really help me embrace it instead of shy away from it. … The amount of people I’ve met doing this and the amount of people that come up to me saying nice things and saying I helped them makes it all worth it. I’ll always continue to embrace the people because the conversations I’ve had really make me feel like I’ve done well,” the athlete assured.
After meeting accomplished people, Gauff revealed that her grandmother is her inspiration. Coco Gauff’s grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom, was the first Black student in Delray Beach, Florida. “Yeah, she’s probably the sole reason why I use my platform the way that I do and why I feel so comfortable speaking out,” Gauff said. “She was the first Black person to go to it was then called Seacrest High School. She was chosen to integrate that high school, and she had to deal with a lot of stuff.”
“So she had to deal with a lot of things, racial injustice. Her leading the way she is and being so kind to everyone regardless of their background is something I take inspiration from. … She always taught me to approach every situation with kindness and understanding. For her to go through what she did during that time is something that what I do — putting out a tweet or saying a speech — is so easy compared to that. So that’s why I have no problem doing the things that I do. She always reminds me that I’m a person first instead of an athlete.”