"Allowed us to be a lot more confident about choosing tennis"- When Coco Gauff claimed Serena Williams and Venus Williams' challenges helped her
Coco Gauff stated back in 2019 that the challenges faced by Serena Williams and Venus Williams helped her family feel more confident about picking tennis as a profession.
Gauff rose to prominence in 2019 as a 15-year-old due to her performances at that year's Wimbledon championships. The American already made history by becoming the youngest qualifier in the history of the grass-court Major and was up against Venus Williams in the first round.
She stunned the five-time Wimbledon champion 6-4, 6-4 to become the youngest player to win a main-draw match at the Grand Slam since Jennifer Capriati in 1991.
Gauff went on to reach the fourth round of the competition with wins over Magdalena Rybarikova and Polona Hercog before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep.
During the tournament, the American was interviewed on Good Morning America and pointed out how there hadn't been too many African-American players in tennis once.
When Venus Williams and Serena Williams began to attain success despite their challenges, it was easy for her and her family to pick tennis as a profession.
“We hadn’t seen many African American women in the sport, so when (Venus and Serena) started winning and having success and trailblazing, some of the challenges that they went through made it a lot easier to get into the sport. And it allowed us to be a lot more confident about choosing (tennis)."
Coco Gauff is a Grand Slam champion at just 19 years old
Coco Gauff has had quite an impressive career already, becoming a Grand Slam champion at the age of 19. The teenager won the US Open this year by beating Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final.
This is her fourth title of the 2023 season, having previously won the ASB Classic in Auckland, the Citi Open in Washington, and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Gauff's exploits at the US Open will see her attain a new career-best ranking of World No. 3. The 19-year-old has won a total of six singles titles so far throughout her career, the first of which came at the 2019 Lins Open.
She has also attained some success in doubles, with eight titles, including three at the WTA 1000 level. Coco Gauff reached two Grand Slam finals at the 2021 US Open and the 2022 French Open, but ended up on the losing side both times.
She is set to be the joint-doubles World No. 1 along with her partner Jessica Pegula.