American tennis legends, Serena and Venus Williams changed the perspective of how people looked at women’s tennis. They inspired young players, especially girls of color, to pick up the racket and smash some balls. Among them was Coco Gauff, who was massively inspired by the Williams sisters’ achievements when she was still a kid. The Williams sisters were one of the reasons that empowered Gauff to excel in the sport.
With her unique style of play and laudable achievements in the early days of her career, Gauff has often been compared to Serena and Venus Williams. While the resemblance of play is rooted in facts, it also comes from watching the sisters play on the television screen right from a young age. Recently, Gauff revealed how the duo enabled her to realize her dream.
How the example of the Williams sisters drove Coco Gauff to become one of the best
Coming from a family of athletes where her mother was a track and field star and her father was a basketball player, Coco Gauff was exposed to the sporting world at a very young age. When she was about to turn six years old, sitting with her father Corey, Coco witnessed Serena Williams lifting the Australian Open trophy in triumph.
Little Coco was in awe and even her father, Corey felt the emotions and called the American legend ‘the GOAT.’ However, a young Gauff, who didn’t know what that term meant, asked her father to explain. “The Greatest of All Time”, it meant. And so young Coco’s mind was made. “I want to be a GOAT,” she told her father, not knowing how close she would come to that title some 16 years later.
Further, Gauff reflected on this incident and said, “As a little girl, it was very important to see representation and see myself in players, especially in the field where it is predominantly white. I don’t think I would have had the belief I could do it if it wasn’t for them.”
Interestingly, while Gauff has played against Venus Williams, she hasn’t faced Serena Williams yet. In an interview, she opened up about the prospects of facing her idol.
Gauff wasn’t ready for Serena Williams
Earlier this year, Coco Gauff reflected on her time with the Williams sisters. She has faced Venus Williams on a couple of occasions and even defeated her, causing massive upsets. But her dream of facing Serena Williams didn’t bear fruit because the WTA legend retired before the two could face each other across the net. Probably a good thing, because Gauff also expressed nervousness at the mere thought of their matchup.
She revealed, “Playing Serena at Wimbledon, I don’t know, I feel like it would have messed up my story. I wasn’t ready for Serena at that time. If I had the perfect world I would have gotten to play both. But Serena retired and I played Venus twice. In my perfect world I would have played Venus once and Serena once.”
While Serena Williams retired in 2022, Gauff has taken over the baton from her and is flying her country’s flag high. It’ll be interesting to see how many Grand Slam titles she can add to her tally this year.
