From beating her as the Wimbledon wildcard to playing doubles together at the French Open two years later, Venus Williams has taught Coco Gauff plenty on and off the court.
In 2019, Coco Gauff was a relatively unknown tennis commodity.
But the Wimbledon wildcard would soon shoot to an overnight sensation when, at just 15 years old, she knocked out Venus Williams in the first round of the competition.
Before the competition commenced, Gauff described the chance to play either of the Williams – Venus or Serena – sisters ‘a dream’ – one she realised less than 24 hours later.
“When I walked on the court, I put the music really loud in my ears because I didn’t want to look at, or hear, the crowd,” she told Vogue.
“A lot of times during that match I didn’t even look at the scoreboard because I didn’t want to see her name. If I had the perfect world, I would have gotten to play both.”
While the whole world watched on as an American teenager toppled one the sport’s greatest, for Gauff at least, it was about more than what unfolded on the court.
“She [Venus] taught me the importance of humility, and the importance of enjoying life outside of tennis, and also the importance of letting your emotions out on the court.”
The lessons didn’t stop at Wimbledon, though.
Two years later, during the French Open, Gauff recalls a time she broke a racket in front of Venus – when they were playing together in the doubles event – who simply encouraged her not to hold in her emotions.
“She was like, ‘That’s okay. That’s what you needed to do in that moment.’”
Coco Gauff’s hopes for Paris 2024
19-year-old Gauff has already one title to her name this year, but she doesn’t intend to stop there.
Jotting down a list of aspirations for 2024 in her notes app, she revealed: “I would say the biggest things on there are to win another Slam, and a medal at the Olympics.”
Doing well at Roland Garro is also on there: “Paris is my favorite city, so I do want to try to win there. That would be special.”
Gauff is currently competing at the Indian Wells Masters on home soil, with her singles campaign beginning on Friday (8 March).
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