Early Childhood

Ever since she was little, she wanted to become a pro tennis player. Corey Gauff and Candi Odom Gauff, her parents, were college athletes. They supported their daughter’s desire for greatness. By the age of 7, she was training 7 days a week, two hours a day with a tennis pro. Her family decided to move from Atlanta, Georgia, to Delray Beach, Florida.

While her family home schooled her and her two younger brothers, she was able to attend some of Delray Beach’s high end tennis camps. At age 10, she was playing with a coach that used to work with Serena Williams (one of the greatest women tennis players of all time).

Before the age of 15, she already had two titles under her belt. She was only 13 when she reached the US Open final, the youngest ever. Only a year later, when she was 14, she became the champion of the French Open junior girls’ tournament, making her one of the youngest winners. These few wins set her up for greatness in her future.

Going Pro

Coco’s first break into her career was getting picked as a wildcard in the 2019 Wimbledon. Slamming through her first 3 matches, and reached the main draw. In an interview with her in 2019, she said, “…I remember at Miami Open I was more disappointed that I lost the round before I got to play Venus than that I lost in general, because I really wanted to play her. But, if I play either one of them, that would be a dream come true.” Little did she know this dream would come true the next day. The draw had been done, and she was going to play Venus Williams.

Coco was only 15, and she was up against someone almost double her age. She shocked many by winning in straight sets, with a score of 6-3, 6-3. After the match, Coco told Venus, “Thank you for everything you’ve done, I wouldn’t be here without you”. She kept pushing through the rounds at Wimbledon until ultimately losing to Simona Haelp in the 4th round. This match also led people to call her Coco instead of her full first name.

Coco continued to work hard in her years. She was only 15 when she got her first taste of a big victory. The beginning of her pro career did not go too smoothly, though. Since turning professional in 2018, she has won some tournaments, such as the DC Open and Cincinnati Masters. She has, however, not yet won a Grand Slam title, yet. She got eliminated in the first round in both the 2022 Australian Open and 2022 Wimbledon. Iga Swiatek, ranked #2 in women’s ATP, beat her in the 2022 French Open finals that same year. Tennis fans watched Coco play her best tennis in the summer of 2023, where she went on to play at the US Open.

Winning Her First Grand Slam Title

2023 saw some of her best playing so far. When she entered the US Open, no one expected the young pro to take the Grand Slam Title home. She ripped through her opponents in the first 16 rounds until she got to the quarter-finals. There she beat Jeļena Ostapenko in straight sets and continued to the semi-finals. The semis brought her another straight set win against Karolína Muchová. This lined her up to play against now world #1 Aryna Sabalenka. The match was exciting to watch. After Sabalenka won the first set, the big question was whether Coco could come back or if Sabalenka would win the title. Coco faced stacked odds but pulled through and won the other two sets. This would be her first Grand Slam title at only 19. She became the first American teenager to win a Grand Slam since Serena Williams in 1999.