What to Know About French Open Tennis Star Coco Gauff

The 16-year-old tennis sensation is taking the French Open, Australian Open, Wimbledon, and world in general by storm

Yesterday Cori “Coco” Gauff won 6-3 against 2019 semi-finalist Johanna Konta at the 2020 French Open tennis competition. Making her way through the Roland Garros stadium, the 16-year-old is one of the youngest players to set foot on the sandstone-color clay court. Having several notable wins against top tennis players—like Venus Wlliams at the 2019 Wimbledon and most recently, Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open back in January—Gauff is already a tennis sensation. Here, eight facts you might not know about the rising junior tennis athelte.

Originally from Florida, Coco was born into a family of winners. Her parents were both athletes, especially in college. Father Corey Gauff was an NCAA Division I basketball player at Georgia State University, and her mom, Candi Gauff, was a former gymnast and a track-and-field athlete at Florida State University.
Although her father wanted her to be a basketball player, Coco didn’t like the sport. Inspired by the legendary sisters Serena and Venus Williams, she started playing tennis at 7 years old.
Coco was the runner-up at the 2017 US Opens, and then a year later, the winner of the French Open Juniors. It was the start of her professional career, and she has come a long way since.
After signing a multi-year sponsorship contract with New Balance, Coco became one of the faces of the sportswear brand. At just 14 years old, the tennis star was already an inspiration for young athletes across the country.
Coco’s other endorsers include the tennis racket company Head, and Barilla (yes, the famous pasta company) along with Roger Ferderer. As a teenage athlete, Coco has already reached celebrity millionaire status.
Other than her tennis idols, Coco’s other heroes are Rihanna, Beyonce, and Michelle Obama, who she got to meet back in 2019.
Coco is coached by her dad and the French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who has been Serena Williams’ coach since 2012.
At the end of the day, she's still a kid on social media: In celebration of her 2019 Wimbledon win, she posted the “And I—Oop!” meme, made famous by RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant drag queen Jasmine Masters.