It wasn’t until she was a Grand Slam champion that Coco Gauff left the world in awe after upsetting one of her heroes.
The then-15-year-old Gauff shocked five-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams in the first round of the 2019 tournament. Almost six years later, Gauff is looking back on that moment of greatness, describing it as a “storybook” beginning to her professional career.
Coco Gauff Made Her Grand Slam Debut At Wimbledon 2019
In July 2019, a teenage Gauff, who was ranked 313th in the world, walked onto the Centre Court at Wimbledon. After becoming the youngest player in the Open Era to qualify for Wimbledon’s main draw, she went on to topple then-39-year-old Venus Williams, a tennis legend she had long admired.
Regardless of the 24-year age difference, Gauff broke Williams once in each set and produced just eight unforced errors to secure a 6–4, 6–4 victory on Centre Court. The American took that momentum with her to deeper rounds, beating Magdalena Rybarikova and Polona Hercog before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep in the fourth round.
In a new video released by Rolex, one of Gauff’s sponsors, the 2023 US Open champion revealed how dreamlike that first-round victory was.
“It felt like a storybook,” Gauff said in the video, which was posted to Rolex’s YouTube channel. “I just remember not looking at the scoreboard the entire match because I didn’t want to see her name. The hardest points of the match were the match points. I felt like I was holding my breath. I don’t want to be known as the girl who got close. Who expects to win against their idol?”
World No. 4 Coco Gauff recently concluded her Italian Open campaign in back-to-back WTA 1000 finals after a solid performance in Madrid. In Rome, she beat Victoria Mboko, Magda Linette, Emma Raducanu, Mirra Andreeva, and Zheng Qinwen to reach the final. However, she lost 2-6, 4-6 to local girl Jasmine Paolini.
In doubles, Gauff teamed up with Alexandra Eala in Rome, and the two made it to the quarterfinals before losing in a three-set match to Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani.
Now in Paris, Gauff is gearing up for her sixth Roland Garros main draw appearance. Since debuting at the French Open in 2020, where she lost to Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan in the second round, she has consistently improved on the Paris clay. She has a quarterfinal finish in 2021 and 2023, a runner-up finish in 2022 to Iga Swiatek, and a semifinal appearance in 2024 to her credit.
Coco Gauff Talked about Being Inspired by the Williams Sisters
During the 2024 Wuhan Open press conference, Coco Gauff explained how Serena and Venus Williams were her childhood idols, as they were the only two Black women she admired in tennis.
“Yeah, I think for me like the advice I have just for any tennis player, but especially Chinese, I think me growing up as a black woman in America, not having seen that much representation in the sport of tennis, where it was just Serena and Venus, I think really pay attention to the people playing in the sport,” Coco Gauff said.
She encouraged up-and-coming players to take the advice from their idols but not copy them to the letter, explaining that though she respected Serena Williams, she has gone on to create her own style.
“Pay attention to your idols, try to emulate, but not an exact copy. Use them as inspiration. For me, my idol was Serena, so I tried her for as much inspiration as I can from her. We’re two different players,” she added.
