Throwback: 18-year-old tennis prodigy Coco Gauff trains with Mike Tyson
Tennis prodigy Coco Gauff trained with Mike Tyson to improve her cardio abilities on the court.
'Iron Mike' is the gold standard when discussing young superstars. He wasn't the most stable guy out of the ring, which got him into many legal issues earlier in his career. However, that aggressiveness paid off when competing.
#OnThisDay - In 1986, Mike Tyson defeated Trevor Berbick by TKO in round 2 of 12 to win the WBC heavyweight title. https://t.co/dqe6E7Axow
The boxing legend famously became heavyweight champion at 20 years old, knocking out Trevor Berbick in November 1986. By the time he was 22, Tyson had already unified the titles and knocked out legends such as Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks.
With that in mind, there are likely few people who understand Coco Gauff's rise to stardom more than Mike Tyson. The tennis star began to become a household name as a teenager, becoming a professional at just 15 years old and upsetting Venus Williams.
15-year-old prodigy Coco Gauff beat one of her idols, Venus Williams, in straight sets at Wimbledon today
After the match, she was overcome with emotion and thanked Venus for inspiring her ✊
(via @Wimbledon)
https://t.co/z5ETd2wUOY
Three years on from that upset victory, she's become one of the best players on the planet. However, Gauff is still intending to improve her game, not only as a tennis player specifically, but also to improve her cardio and strength.
For that, she trained with the boxing legend in 2021, and fans even got a glimpse into the training.
Watch Mike Tyson train with Coco Gauff in the video below:
Did Coco Gauff continue to train with Mike Tyson?
Coco Gauff eventually went on to work with a different trainer but praised her time working with Mike Tyson.
'Iron Mike' is a busy man these days. He runs his popular 'Hotboxin' podcast, has a merchandise company, occasionally acts, and has helped build a successful cannabis company over the last few years as well.
Given the workload of the former heavyweight champion, it makes sense that he's not interested in working as a full-time trainer. While Tyson did help Gauff get into better shape, it wasn't a long-term partnership.
Nonetheless, the tennis player seemed to appreciate her time working with the boxing legend. During a column for BBC Sport, Coco Gauff revealed that she kept training after her time with Tyson, even going to a professional boxing gym.
While she enjoyed working with the legend, she also admitted that she has improved a lot in the gym. Gauff wrote:
"I'm not a fighter - even though I have trained in the past with Mike Tyson. If someone came up and punched me I would be out first punch!.. The [next] boxing instructor is a fighter and he said I improved in the three weeks I did with him."