The schoolgirl who knocked Venus Williams out of Wimbledon is being lauded as a ‘champion in the making’ after beating the tennis legend in her first ever Grand Slam main draw.
Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff beat the seven-time Grand Slam singles winner 6-4 6-4 yesterday – less than a week after finishing her exams.
The 15-year-old’s victory brought praise from former world number six Chanda Rubin, who told the BBC that the sport was seeing something special.
‘We’ve seen something incredible,’ she said. ‘Just 15 years of age, her very first Grand Slam main draw, a first Wimbledon main draw, against a Venus Williams who played a good match. I think we’re seeing a champion in the making here.’
The emotional teenager shared these posts to her Instagram account following the victory over her idol, Venus Williams, at Wimbledon yesterday
Coco shared this post marking the historic moment at Wimbledon – which is the first time the 15-year-old has played in a Grand Slam main draw
Speaking after the electrifying match, an emotional Gauff revealed her friends and family are ecstatic – including her coach and father Corey, pictured
The teenager (pictured) is being hailed as a champion in the making after she beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon yesterday
Coco (pictured) took down the tennis legend just days after she finished her school exams and is being lauded as a future champion of the sport
Speaking of her post-match conversation with her hero, Gauff revealed: ‘Venus told me congratulations and keep going, she said good luck and I told her thanks for everything she did’
Willliams, 39, won four of her Grand Slam titles before Gauff was even born. Speaking after her victory, the emotional teenager revealed her friends and family are ecstatic – including her coach and father Corey.
She said: ‘I know [my parents] are super happy, my dad was just jumping up every time I won a point. I’m just so happy and blessed that they really just spent all their time on me and my brothers and making sure that we’re successful.’
Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff, 15, has beaten her idol Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon – despite finishing her exams just a week ago
Gauff, who became the youngest girl in 50 years to qualify for the tournament, beat the tennis legend 6-4 6-4 today
Gauff beat the tennis legend – who had won four of her Grand Slam titles before she was even born – this afternoon
Corey could not contain his excitement while his wife Candi took snaps of their victorious daughter from their seats
She went on to joke that she would be staying up all night responding to calls from her brother and grandma and texts from friends.
Gauff was not even born when Williams claimed her first Wimbledon title in 2000. She had a world ranking of 301 at the start of this year’s championships, and was given a wild card entry for her first Grand Slam tournament.
Speaking of her post-match conversation with her hero, Gauff revealed: ‘Venus told me congratulations and keep going, she said good luck and I told her thanks for everything she did.
‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her – I told her she was so inspiring and I’ve always wanted to tell her that but I’ve never had the guts to before.’
Ahead of the match, she revealed she listened to music by Jaden, Kendrick Lamar and Miss Mulatto when stepping on to court to help keep her calm.
After winning, Gauff broke down into tears – the first time she had cried since Ironman died in Avengers End Game.
She added: ‘Honestly I don’t really know how to feel. This was definitely the first time I ever cried after winning a match. I don’t even know how to explain how I feel.
‘I had to tell myself to stay calm, I’d never played on a court so big. I had to remind myself that the lines are the same size.’
After winning, Gauff broke down into tears – the first time she had cried since Ironman died in Avengers End Game
Speaking about her parents after the match, Gauff said: ‘I’m just so happy and blessed that they really just spent all their time on me and my brothers and making sure that we’re successful’
Gauff was not even born when Williams claimed her first Wimbledon title in 2000. Williams, pictured during the match today, last won Wimbledon back in 2008
The crowd went wild after the shock win by the 15-year-old schoolgirl who was given a wildcard into the Wimbledon qualifying event at Roehampton, south west London
Gauff has modelled her life on the Williams sisters – moving from Atlanta, Georgia, to Florida to further her career
Gauff had a world ranking of 301 at the start of this year’s championships, and was given a wild card entry for her first Grand Slam tournament
Gauff looked to be in a state of complete disbelief after beating her idol Williams on the court at Wimbledon today
Gauff has modelled her life on the Williams sisters – moving from Atlanta, Georgia, to Florida to further her career.
This isn’t the first time she has come face-to-face with her hero – when she was eight, Gauff’s father managed to get front-row tickets to the U.S. Open and she even got her autograph.
Earlier this week, she told SportsMail: ‘They’re great role models for the sport and in general. I’m super excited to play against Venus. I’ve never practised or hit with either of them.
‘My first U.S. Open I went to when I was eight we saw a Venus match, my dad somehow got us front-row tickets. I got her autograph, I was so happy.
‘After the match she gave the ball kids one of the balls and he gave it to me — I don’t know if she told him to.’
Gauff was the youngest U.S. Open junior finalist at 13, and according to Forbes is set to earn $1million (£800,000) from endorsements in 2019.
Her serve is already among the quickest in women’s tennis. She reckons her fastest serve was 122mph.
At Wimbledon last year in the women’s singles, only two players broke the 120mph mark: Venus and Serena.
‘I want to be the best of all time — better than Serena,’ she added. ‘I to hit like her, take the ball early like her.
‘I wouldn’t say everything is modelled around her but if you watch me play you definitely see little bits of Serena.’
She added: ‘Honestly I don’t really know how to feel. This was definitely the first time I ever cried after winning a match. I don’t even know how to explain how I feel’
This isn’t the first time Gauff came face-to-face with her hero Venus, pictured during the match today, either – when she was eight, Gauff’s father managed to get front-row tickets to the U.S. Open and she even got her autograph
Ahead of the match, she revealed she listened to music by Jaden, Kendrick Lamar and Miss Mulatto when stepping on to court to help keep her calm
Miss Williams said at a press conference after the game that she didn’t play well but was ‘happy to see Cori playing great’
Gauff’s father Corey pointed to his daughter as he celebrated her win against Venus Williams at Wimbledon earlier today
Gauff went on to joke that she would be staying up all night responding to calls from her brother and grandma and texts from friends
Speaking after the match, Gauff added: ‘I had to tell myself to stay calm, I’d never played on a court so big. I had to remind myself that the lines are the same size’
Gauff has modelled her life on the Williams sisters – moving from Atlanta, Georgia, to Florida to further her career
Gauff was the youngest U.S. Open junior finalist at 13, and according to Forbes is set to earn $1million (£800,000) from endorsements in 2019