The Stunning Transformation Of US Tennis Player Coco Gauff

We're all familiar with Serena and Venus Williams and their stratospheric rise to stardom, but there's a youngster who is ready to take the tennis crown. Coco Gauff has been making waves in the sport for years, but she's still only at the beginning of her career. The Florida native has been honing her craft since she was just a child and taking the tennis world by storm. By the age of 19, Gauff had already graced the courts at Wimbledon and had even beat out a tennis gargantuan at the famous competition. There doesn't seem to be much that Gauff can't accomplish, but is it simply in her DNA or does it come down to pure skill with a racket? The answer is a combination of both. 

Though her story is still in its early stages, Gauff has come on leaps and bounds since her early days as a child in the South. She's had an incredible career thus far, and her transformation, while ongoing, is one of the most impressive stories in sports history. 

Though we know her as Coco now, the tennis superstar was born Cori Dionne Gauff in 2004 in Delray Beach, Florida. Her parents, Corey and Candi, already had a love for sports as they were accomplished collegiate athletes themselves, with Corey having played basketball for Georgia State and Candi having scored an athletic scholarship to Florida State University thanks to her prowess in heptathlon and hurdles. So when little Coco picked up a tennis racket as a small child and claimed she wanted to take it to the top, it was hardly surprising. Sportsmanship is in this family's blood and is clearly a big part of what makes the Gauffs tick. 

In Coco's early years, the family picked up and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where Corey's job as a vice president for a healthcare firm was situated. They put down roots there, with Candi also enjoying a job as a teacher, but things changed when it became clear that Coco was serious about tennis. The best course of action, thought Corey, was to move the family back to their hometown of Delray Beach so that Coco could go to a top-notch tennis camp. And so the Gauffs went back home, where Coco was homeschooled by her mom and concentrated on becoming the best tennis player she could possibly be. 

When a child is dedicated to a sport, it's a full-time hobby. It doesn't just take a lot of commitment from them but also from their parents, who have to fund the activity as well as getting them to and from training. Luckily for Coco Gauff, her dad has always been her biggest supporter. Though Gauff eventually found a passion for tennis, her parents made sure that she tried out multiple sports during her early years. When it became clear that she loved the sport more than anything else, the Gauffs were all in. 

Her dad even became her first coach and continues to motivate her and give her wise words of encouragement now her career has advanced. "I never have to say 'go to practice,'" Corey told NBC in 2019. "It's always been her wanting to go practice and asking to go to practice. She's willing to do the work and never complains about the work."

That same year, Coco paid homage to her dad when talking to reporters during a press conference. She explained that her goal was to be the greatest in the sport via the U.S. Open. "My dad told me I could do this when I was eight, and obviously, you never believe it," she added, before admitting that while she still isn't 100% confident, she tries to believe in her ability.

Any athlete will tell you that getting the right start is key to success, and Coco Gauff certainly got that. After being solidly encouraged by her parents, it was clear that Coco was one to watch. Her father, Corey Gauff, decided to up the stakes when his daughter was 10 years old by taking her to the prestigious Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the south of France. The institution is famously run by Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams' coach. She quickly caught Mouratoglou's attention, and he has been championing her ever since. 

In 2019, Mouratoglou spoke to the Standard about what sets Gauff apart from other players. "A lot of top, top players have great games but they're not champions because they don't have the X-factor. But she does," he explained. He went on to explain that while Gauff was only 15 at the time, she had a maturity that others her age don't typically have: "She's had great experience with pressure, which is quite unusual at 15."

Mouratoglou couldn't speak highly enough of his student. In fact, Coco was due to perform at a tennis gala at his academy before she was pulled into Wimbledon at the last minute as a wildcard. Something tells us he doesn't hold any grudges!

In 2019, budding tennis star Coco Gauff made waves. Gauff made it to Wimbledon — one of the most important tennis competitions — when she was just 15 years old. Though she didn't win the women's singles, she did make impressive strides, including beating one of the sport's biggest names and one of her idols, Venus Williams. Gauff played against the seasoned pro and five-times singles champion in her first-ever Grand Slam singles match, defeating Williams 6-4, 6-4. 

The jaw-dropping victory wasn't just impressive because of the way the match was played but because Gauff was almost 25 years younger and more inexperienced than her opponent. According to The New York Times, Gauff secured her win by concentrating on her performance and not thinking about who she was playing. "I was just playing my game," she said. "No matter who I play against, I want to win. So that's what I was just thinking about the whole time. I wasn't really thinking about who I was facing on the other side of the net."

Gauff also revealed that after her win, she seized the moment to tell Williams just how much she idolized her and thanked her for what she had done for the sport. 

If you've ever wondered what it's really like to be an Instagram influencer, look no further than the profiles of your favorite athletes. Though they may not be selling you Morphe palettes or Pretty Little Thing collections, popular sports stars rake in the dough with sponsorship deals. Coco Gauff is no stranger to this game, as she has been making millions from brand collaborations since she was a young teen. Her Wimbledon performance in 2019 certainly boosted her profile, but brands were already trying to sign her up before that, according to her agent Tony Godsick. 

Godsick told Forbes that a bidding war ensued in 2018. "The manufacturers, all of them were interested in signing her. This time last summer, there was a very heated and aggressive attempt by multiple companies to sign her." Gauff ended up with New Balance, racket maker Head, and even pasta brand Barilla, all before she stepped onto the court at Wimbledon. As you can imagine, these brand deals only got more intense following her victory over Venus Williams. 

"We're getting a lot of companies calling, a lot of companies within the industry, and a lot of companies that hadn't been in tennis," Godsick divulged at the time. According to the Express, Gauff had deals worth around $1 million before she even turned 15. 

For the first few years of her career, Coco Gauff went by her birth name, Cori, at competitions. However, her friends and family have been calling her Coco for quite some time. In an interview with Sports Illustrated Kids in 2021, Gauff revealed that it used to get confusing at home as her dad's name is Corey. To clear things up, a family member came up with a solution. "I believe it was my aunt who said, 'Oh, we should just call her Coco.' When my dad was growing up, people used to call him Co. ... Ever since then, I've been going by Coco." When she participated in Wimbledon in 2019, she was listed as Cori Gauff. 

Even in the tournaments that followed, Gauff was still listed as Cori, but that changed with the help of her sponsor, New Balance. Head of global tennis and baseball sports marketing for the sportswear brand Evan Zeder explained to Andscape that something had to be done about it. "[Gauff] was adamant to New Balance that she's Coco, and her dad is Corey. ... We said, 'Well, if you want everyone to call her Coco, let's make some T-shirts that tell them to. Then, it was thrown out, 'What if we make an entire 'Call Me Coco' campaign?'" 

As well as apparel, the campaign consisted of sneakers emblazoned with "Call me Coco." Now, there's no denying this tennis pro's name!

Being one of the best talents in your sport at such an early age comes with an undeniable amount of pressure. Typically, young people aren't well-equipped to deal with such overwhelming feelings, so it's only natural that Gauff began to feel the consequences of her success. Talking to Noah Rubin's "Behind the Racket," Gauff revealed that her notoriety at a young age brought about attention she didn't necessarily like. "Throughout my life, I was always the youngest to do things, which added hype that I didn't want," she said (via The New York Times). "It added this pressure that I needed to do well fast. Once I let that all go, that's when I started to have the results I wanted."

The rising star also went on to say that before Wimbledon in 2019, she was having second thoughts about whether she really loved tennis enough to dedicate her career to it. "For about a year, I was really depressed. That was the toughest year for me so far." After making this statement, her father, Corey Gauff, spoke to the press to clarify that his daughter was simply trying to put a name to the pressure she felt but had never been medically treated for depression. 

Olympians don't actually make much money from the Olympic Games themselves; however, sponsorships serve as a large part of their earnings. At the time of writing, Gauff is just 20 years old, but her supreme talent has served her well (pardon the pun). Not only do her sponsorships help her rake in cash, but her public profile has grown. In 2019, Gauff graced the cover of one of the most well-known magazines in the world, Teen Vogue. 

The youngster wore a green tennis top with white detailing, minimal makeup, and chunky gold hoops. Her fresh-faced appearance and natural beauty painted the picture of a strong, empowered young woman about to make her mark on the world.

Teen Vogue isn't the only high-profile magazine Gauff has been featured in, either. She has been profiled in Time, Vogue, and even graced the cover of a Marvel comic. It really doesn't get much better than that, and this is just the beginning for the tennis genius. 

When Coco Gauff was a little girl, she said she wanted to be the best. That dream has been becoming a reality for years. Although Coco Gauff qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she contracted COVID-19 and was not able to play. Since then, though, Gauff has had her chance to shine. In 2023, she beat Aryna Sabalenka to win the U.S. Open, taking her first career Grand Slam title at the tender age of 19. Sabalenka won the first set 6-2, but Gauff dominated the remaining two, scooping the title. 

At the time, Gauff said, "Today was the first time I've ever seen my dad cry. He doesn't want me to tell you about that, but he got caught in 4K. He thinks he's so hard" (via The Guardian). Gauff went on to shout out those who doubted her: "Honestly, those who thought they were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it, and now I'm really burning so bright right now."

The incredible victory only made it clearer that Gauff was in peak condition, with plenty of fuel left in the tank to carry on winning and claiming victory after victory.

Coco Gauff might have missed out on a chance to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but she wasn't about to miss playing tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The unstoppable tennis whiz proudly represented the United States at the historic event, marking her first time competing in the historical games. Gauff even had the honor of holding the American flag at the opening ceremony alongside basketball legend Lebron James, which is another moment for the books. 

As you might expect, given the standard Gauff has set for herself in recent years, her first match was a knock-out success. She competed against Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic, winning the singles match on the second day of the tournament. Her confidence was palpable and possibly boosted by the fact that she had already won a doubles match alongside Jessica Pegula prior to her solo venture. 

Only one question remains: Is there anything Coco Gauff can't accomplish?