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Last year, Coco Gauff became the first American teen to win the U.S. Open in decades. While she’d always been an incredibly exciting tennis player to watch, the achievement propulsed her to a new stage of her career. She was recently featured on the cover of TIME magazine, where she discussed her Olympic ambitions and the importance of seeing Serena and Venus Williams play tennis when she was a little girl.
Gauff discusses the impact of seeing players like Serena and Venus Williams conquer tennis courts. When she was six years old, she recalled watching Serena play at the Australian Open. She was watching the game with her dad, Corey, who called Serena the GOAT. “What’s a GOAT?” she asked, prompting her dad to explain that the term referred to Greatest Of All Time. Gauff realized that that was something she wanted for herself. Her dad bought her a tennis racquet and she spent hours playing alone in her garage, hitting the ball against the wall.
“As a little girl, it was very important to see representation and see myself in players, especially in the field where it is predominantly white,” said Gauff. “I don’t think I would have had the belief I could do it if it wasn’t for them.”
© GettyImagesGauff’s Olympic dreams
This year, Gauff will be making her debut at the Olympics, representing her country in Paris. It’s a moment she’s thrilled about, and one she appears to have been waiting for for years. “I want to win a gold so bad,” she said.
This year’s summer Olympics will kick off July 26th. With that and the many tennis tournaments scheduled throughout the year, Gauff has plenty to do, and we have plenty to watch.
