"I remember trying to hit the serve so hard" - Coco Gauff recalls acting as Serena Williams' body double in a commercial
Coco Gauff has always idolized Serena Williams and even played the 40-year-old's body double in a commercial nine years ago.
Gauff and Williams first crossed paths when the former won the Little Mo national tournament at the age of eight. The next time they met was in a completely different setting.
As a nine-year-old, Gauff was cast as the body double for a young Williams in a Delta Air Lines commercial shot at a country club in Palm Beach. While the director had asked her if she could hit a serve, she thought she was asked if she could hit a serve like the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
"It was so cool. I remember trying to hit the serve so hard. And I made it in," Gaufff said, recalling the experience in a chat with ESPN.
"I didn't really look up to anybody else" - Coco Gauff on Venus and Serena Williams
Coco Gauff shot to fame as a 15-year-old at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, where she was offered a wild card entry into qualifying. She won three tough matches to become the youngest player to qualify for the tournament's main draw, and she wasn't done. In her first-round match, she beat Venus Williams, her other idol, on her grasscourt Major debut.
Recalling the sequence of events, the youngster said that she was far from intimidated about the prospect of taking on the older Williams sister. Instead, she was ecstatic and looked forward to the contest.
"It was a dream. I always wanted to play them, but I thought they'd be gone before I got on tour. Did I think I could win that match? No. Because Serena, Venus, Serena, Venus. All the time, in my head," Gauff said.
They say never meet your heroes...but for @CocoGauff this was an encounter to remember 🙌
Relive her 2019 first round meeting with Venus Williams in full ⬇️
#WimbledonRecreated twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…
She admits to having closely followed the Williams sisters throughout her life.
"Serena. Venus. Serena. Venus. Serena, Venus, Serena, Venus. That's all I watched growing up," she said with a giggle.
While she did keep an eye on the other players, she had her sights set firmly on the two.
"My coach and I only watched their matches. I didn't really look up to anybody else," she said.
In the same interview, Gauff's mother Candi said her daughter would not have been a tennis player had it not been for the Williams sisters. Additionally, her husband would not have taken to the sport had it not been for Richard Williams — Venus and Serena’s father.
"If it wasn't for the Williams sisters, Coco would not be a tennis player. And if it wasn't for Richard, my husband would not have studied tennis in that format. He's patented himself off [Richard Williams] and used their roadmap," Candi said.