Coco Gauff reveals how she truly feels about Serena Williams' inclusion in prestigious list
Coco Gauff has spoken up about Serena Williams being recently named among the world's most influential people by Time. Gauff, who idolized Williams while growing up and continues to do so as she charts her own professional tennis journey, lauded her legendary compatriot after the 23-time singles Major champion added the latest feather to her cap.
On Wednesday, April 16, Time announced the '2025 TIME100', the iconic magazine's annual list of the world's most influential people. Former WTA No. 1 Williams features on the list alongside 99 other big names from diverse spheres such as Ed Sheeran, Scarlett Johansson, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Simone Biles.
Coco Gauff, who is currently competing at the 2025 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, was asked about Serena Williams' latest accomplishment following her comfortable 6-1, 6-1 second-round win over qualifier Ella Seidel at the WTA 500-level claycourt event. According to Gauff, Williams deserved her spot in the prestigious list.
"Most influential people of all time, I mean, that's an incredible accomplishment that she definitely deserves," Gauff said.
The 2023 US Open champion went on to briefly talk about how Williams' on and off-court endeavors influenced and inspired not just her, but people of color in general. She also praised the pictures from the photoshoot Williams did for Time to mark her inclusion in the list of the most influential individuals on the planet.
"She probably influenced millions, and I'm one of them. Not only in tennis but worldwide, just to be strong women and especially women of color. It's well-deserved. I wasn't surprised when I saw that. Her photos looked really good," she added.
Last year, Gauff admitted to emulating Williams' style of play despite not being an "exact copy" of the latter.
"My idol was Serena Williams" - Coco Gauff on drawing inspiration from legendary American's game
Ahead of the 2024 Wuhan Open, Coco Gauff called on rising young players to develop their styles of play based on the inspiration they draw from their favorite players. However, she urged players not to "exactly copy" their idols. She cited her own example, suggesting that she put into practice several things that her idol Serena Williams brought to the tennis court, but eventually became a player of her own.
"Pay attention to your idols, try to emulate, but not an exact copy. Use them as inspiration. For me, my idol was Serena, so I tried her for as much inspiration as I can from her. We're two different players," Gauff said at a press conference.
Gauff, the WTA No. 4 and the fourth seed in Stuttgart, is set to lock horns with No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini next in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The American has a 2-0 lead over the Italian in their WTA Tour-level head-to-head.