Cori “Coco” Gauff plays professional tennis. When she was 15, she received a wild card entry to Wimbledon and defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the first round. Gauff also reached the third round of the US Open that year and won her maiden singles title. In 2021, she won her second singles victory and reached the French Open quarterfinals. Gauff was named to the United States Olympic team in June 2021, but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19.
Early Life and Family
Cori aka “Coco” Gauff was born in Delray Beach, Florida on March 13, 2004. Cori was named after her father, Corey, and was given his nickname, Coco. Gauff’s father was a Division I basketball player at Georgia State. Candi, her mother, was a gymnast who also ran Division I track and field at Florida State University.
Gauff spent her childhood in Georgia. Her mother was a teacher, while her father worked in the pharmaceutical industry. Gauff’s parents chose to leave their careers and relocate back to Delray Beach, Florida, to support her tennis training and career. Candi began homeschooling her daughter, while Corey became her coach. Cameron and Cody Gauff are Gauff’s younger brothers.
Early Tennis Career
Gauff’s parents wanted his firstborn to participate in sports because they were athletes. Gauff began playing tennis when he was six years old. By the age of ten, she had been to France to practice with Serena Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. Gauff has continued to work with Mouratoglou, but her primary coach is her father.
Corey has said of Gauff’s development, “Be a well-rounded athlete, learn other sports — that’s one thing we emphasized with Coco early on; she was in gymnastics, soccer, basketball, and she ran track. We wanted her to develop as a total athlete.”
In 2014, Gauff won the US Tennis Association Clay Court National 12-under title. In 2017, she finished second in the US Open Girl’s Junior Championships. The next year, she won the French Open junior title.
Professional Tennis Career
Gauff told friends and family in January 2019 that her objective for the year was to become one of the top 100 ranked players in the Women’s Tennis Association. She was 685th at the moment.
Gauff, 15, rushed to London in June 2019 after obtaining a wild card slot to play at Wimbledon. In the first round, she faced Venus Williams. Not only was Williams a five-time Wimbledon champion, but she and her sister Serena were Gauff’s tennis idols. Gauff, on the other hand, emerged victorious.
Gauff became the youngest player since 1991 to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2019. Her achievement received so much attention that it gave rise to the phrase “Cocomania.” Soon after, she reached the third round of the US Open, becoming the youngest player to do so since 1991. Her defeat was followed by a remarkable display of sportsmanship when champion Naomi Osaka invited Gauff to participate in the post-match interview.
Gauff won her maiden WTA title in October 2019 at the Linz Open in Austria. This success was made possible in part because she was a “lucky loser” who made the tournament’s main draw when another player was forced to withdraw due to injury. Gauff also achieved her objective of becoming one of the WTA’s top 100 players.
Gauff advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2020 after defeating Osaka in the third round. Gauff reached the French Open quarterfinals in 2021, becoming the youngest player to do it since 2006. She also advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon that year and won another WTA singles championship in Parma, Italy.
Gauff, in addition to her singles accomplishments, has competed in and won doubles competitions, frequently with Catherine McNally. Due to an injury, McNally was unable to pair with Gauff at the 2021 French Open, therefore Gauff played doubles with Venus Williams. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the first round.
In 2020, Gauff shared in an essay that before her success at Wimbledon in 2019, she’d experienced “this pressure that I needed to do well fast.” She’d also struggled with depression for “about a year.” She noted that things changed for her after “I realized I needed to start playing for myself and not other people.” She said of this struggle, “I came out of it stronger and knowing myself better than ever.”
In September 2023, Gauff rallied from behind to win the US Open, claiming her first Grand Slam title with a spirited victory over Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff, 19, won 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in 2 hours and 6 minutes on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court, capping off a fairytale turnaround in her season’s fortunes.
Age Restrictions in Women’s Tennis
The WTA implemented rules in 1994 that limited professional tournament participation to those aged 14 to 17. (Younger players are not permitted to turn professional.) A player can only compete in eight professional events at the age of 14, increasing to 16 tournaments at the age of 17. Winning can raise the number of events allowed slightly, but full pro status is not available until a player reaches the age of 18.
These guidelines are intended to protect players, in part because Jennifer Capriati experienced burnout after turning pro at the age of 13. However, there have been concerns that the framework is excessively restrictive. Gauff has been slower to progress in the player rankings because she is only allowed to compete in a limited number of tournaments. Her highest ranking to date is No. 23.
2020 Olympics
The 2020 Olympic Games have been postponed by one year due to the Covid-19 epidemic. Gauff was named to the United States Olympic team in 2021 after winning the French Open in June. She would have been the youngest Olympic tennis player since 2000.
Sadly, a positive Covid test forced Gauff to withdraw from the Games. On July 18, she wrote on Twitter, “I am so disappointed to share the news that I have tested positive for COVID and won’t be able to play in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It has always been a dream of mine to represent the USA at the Olympics, and I hope there will be many more chances for me to make this come true in the future. I want to wish TEAM USA best of luck and a safe games for every Olympian and the entire Olympic family.”
Income
Gauff was awarded $538,103 in 2019 and $509,862 in 2020. In 2021, her winnings surpassed $1 million. She also has endorsement contracts with businesses such as New Balance and Barilla. Team8, which Roger Federer co-founded, represents Gauff.
According to Forbes, she earned $3.1 million on the court and $8 million off the court. Her off-court pay could be even higher if her agent and parents didn’t take such a slow and steady approach, according to the publication.
Gauff signed her first off-the-field contract with New Balance at the age of 14 and recently extended the deal, which Forbes reports came with a significant pay raise. The brand marked the occasion by releasing a new colorway of Gauff’s signature Coco CG1 performance tennis shoe called “All in the Family.”
Activism
Gauff said in 2019, “My generation has just decided it was time to speak up on our own about things. I do follow the [climate] movement a lot and I’m learning about ways we can better change, at least my lifestyle and the way my family live[s].” She was sharing information online with followers about Juneteenth years before it became a federal holiday.
In 2020, Gauff spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest in Florida, noting she was protesting against the same injustices her grandmother fought “50-plus years ago.”