Coco Gauff has huge message for Serena Williams while revealing future goals
After idolizing Williams as a little girl, Gauff went on to become one of the best in the game.
Coco Gauff has hailed Serena Williams as “the true and only GOAT,” expressing her determination to emulate her idol by winning numerous Grand Slam titles before retiring from professional tennis.
Ranked No. 3 globally and currently the top American female tennis player, the 20-year-old Gauff has openly admired Williams since childhood, dreaming of reaching her heights.
Now, Gauff is recognized as one of the leading players in women’s tennis. Like Williams, she achieved significant success early in her career. Gauff clinched her first Grand Slam title at last year’s US Open and is now competing in the French Open. She began her campaign on Monday with a commanding 6-1, 6-1 victory over Julia Avdeeva. In an interview with Tennis Channel after the match, Gauff, who turned 20 in March, emphasized her goal of securing her second Grand Slam title in Paris.
Williams, during her illustrious career, amassed 23 Grand Slam titles, just one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24. However, Gauff has no doubt about who the “real GOAT” is.
“I definitely aim to follow that trend. I want to win as many slams as possible, inspired by Serena Williams. I believe she is the true and only GOAT. Her inspiration has made my dreams boundless,” Gauff said on Tennis Channel.
“I was taught from a young age to dream as big as possible, even if they seem unrealistic. Limiting your dreams can box you in, so I strive to aim higher,” she added.
Gauff on a huge advice received from Mary Joe Fernandez
When Gauff was just starting her career, she got in touch with former three-time Grand Slam finalist Fernandez, who advised her to stop thinking about how many games he wanted on a certain day but to enter every match with the aim of finishing on the winning side and nothing other than that.
That happened just before Gauff famously upset seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams at the 2019 Wimbledon as a 15-year-old teenager.
Now five years later, Gauff’s success speaks for itself and the American acknowledges Fernandez played a little part in that.
“And If I went in my every match of my career, which is something that Mary Joe Fernandez taught me before I played Venus, she told me, ‘You don’t go into the match seeing how many games you wanted, you want to win and go into the believing that you can win’ and honesty, my mindset before that was to see how many games I could get,” Gauff shared.
“And when she told me that, I was like okay, I have to go in to win. And that’s what I just ended up taking that little thing and applying it to everything that I do and every tournament that I go in and it’s not I just want to make the quarterfinals and make the semifinals. I go in believing that I can win.”
Champions inspiring champions 👑 @CocoGauff talks about Rafael Nadal, dreaming big, and staying grounded with the results. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Nnx8nCBy30
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 27, 2024
How Gauff paid major tribute to the Williams sisters after her US Open win
After coming back from a set down in the 2023 US Open final versus Aryna Sabalenka to achieve her major goal of becoming a Grand Slam champion as a teenager, Gauff instantly remembered the Williams sisters. In her speech, Gauff underlined that the Williams sisters were the reason why she started with tennis in the first place and that the most successful sisters in tennis history made her believe she could also one day be a tennis superstar.
“Yes, it’s crazy. I mean, they’re the reason why I have this trophy today, to be honest. They have allowed me to believe in this dream, you know, growing up,” Gauff said after winning the US Open.#”You know, there wasn’t too many just Black tennis players dominating the sport. It was literally, at that time when I was younger, it was just them that I can remember. Obviously, more came because of their legacy. So it made the dream more believable. But all the things that they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this.”
It will be interesting to see if Gauff can win her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, where she finished as runner-up two years ago.
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