Patreice A. Massey, Michigan Chronicle
Yes, that just happened.
15-year-old Cori “Coco” Gauff faced off against her idol, Venus Williams and won. The teenage phenom shook up the Wimbledon when she bested the eldest Williams, 6-4 at the All England Club.
According to BBC reports, a stunned but gracious Williams, offered these words to Gauff after the match, “Congratulations, keep going, and good luck.”
It doesn’t look like Gauff has any plans on stopping or slowing down…
Born in Atlanta, Gauff moved to Delray Beach, Florida for better training opportunities. She started playing tennis at the age of seven. She is the youngest ever finalist in the girls’ singles event at the US Open. In 2018, Gauff became the second-youngest person to win the Junior French Open Gauff made history by being the youngest female to qualify for a Grand Slam tournament main draw, and the youngest player overall to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon.
Gauff has trained with Gerard Loglo at the New Generation Tennis Academy in Delray Beach, Florida. Her connection with the Williams sisters goes further back – when she was 11 Serena Williams’ coach selected her to be part of his Champ’Seed foundation and she has the opportunity to train with him in Nice, France.
After defeating Williams Gauff revealed that Venus is one of her biggest inspirations and that she “wouldn’t be [at Wimbledon] if it wasn’t for her.”
She went on to acknowledge her supportive and athletic parents. Her father who played basketball at Georgia State University is her head coach, and her mother was a track and field star at Florida State University. Gauff is homeschooled by her mother, a former teacher.
“My parents will be super happy; my dad was jumping up every time I won a point,” Gauff said. “I’m so happy they spent all their time on me and my brothers and making sure we’re successful.”
In October 2018 Gauff signed her first multi-year sponsorship contract, with New Balance.[9] In March 2019 she announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Italian food company Barilla, which also sponsors Roger Federer.[9]
“I don’t really know how to feel, this is the first time I’ve cried after a match — after winning,” Gauff added at the end of her match against Williams. “I never thought this would happen. I’m literally living my dream right now.”
Come through, Coco! Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff beats Williams, wins Wimbledon
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