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Cori “CoCo” Gauff shatters barriers every time that she steps on the tennis court. For those unfamiliar, CoCo is 16 years old and has been perfecting her tennis craft for years. At age 10, she visited Patrick Mouratoglou - to attend Venus and Serena Williams instructional camp.
CoCo made her way to the main stage after defeating formidable opponent, Venus Williams in the opening round of last year’s Wimbledon. She exited the tournament in the round of 16 thus becoming the youngest player since Jennifer Capriati (Semifinal DQ age 15) to advance to that point. Her decisive loss in that matchup was against Simona Halep who would go on to defeat Serena Williams for the 2019 Wimbledon title.
Although, many people had just begun to catch wind of Gauff’s incredible repertoire overnight she has putting in arduous hours for this her entire life. She continues to become an elite competitor in her sport at a scorching pace. After claiming the 2018 French Open at age 13, CoCo has set her trajectory for the stars. Rightfully so, this woman has polarized the masses and is respectfully sponsored by New Balance. Whether you like tennis or not, there is no way around the fact that CoCo Gauff is phenomenal.
On 08/12, CoCo defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals as she continues to perform at an extraordinarily high level. Despite dropping her first match, Coco defeated Ons Jabeur at the Top Seed Open on 08/13. Thursday’s action concluded with the 31st matchup between Venus and Serena Williams.
CoCo Gauff’s canvas presence is stellar. She is not defeating slouches either, by any means. Her ability to perform at a high level exhibits agility, acceleration and terrific athletic awareness. She is working on her slice, places great topspin on her serves, and has shown the ability to make like a chess player and strategically maneuver through matches.
To avoid burnout, the WTA normally places restrictions on the amount of tournaments an adolescent player can enter. Typically that number is 10 tournaments however, CoCo’s merit-based dominance granted her an additional two competitions. Also, if you take COVID into account, the hiatus benefitted Gauff because while she was forced to rest due to her age, everyone else rested in quarantine.
Stories like these are downright groundbreaking. The underdog mentality and ability to grind through the mud and make it to elite competitive levels through disciplined dedication is so commendable.