Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff is an adorable bundle of joy for her family. Before the Paris Olympics, Gauff visited her grandmother’s house, where she received an adorable surprise. Sharing her grandma’s prized possessions, Gauff was overjoyed and likely received extra motivation to go all out in the Games.
Gauff arrived at her Grandmother’s house to likely see her once before she gets busy with the Olympics and the following American hard court swing. However, she was likely not aware of what awaited her. In her official Instagram story, she shared a picture of the magazines her grandmother collected and stored. Noticing the image, one can easily tell how Gauff’s grandma kept only those magazines with Gauff’s face/image as their cover photo. This adorable gesture took the US Open champion’s heart as she captioned it, “At my grandma’s house this is so cool.”
Gauff has spoken about her grandmother’s contribution to her life many times over the years. After winning the US Open last year, Gauff talked about how her grandmother has been an equal support in her career like her father and mother.
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“She always taught me to approach every situation with kindness and understanding. For her to go through what she did during that time is something that I think … what I do — putting out a tweet or saying a speech — is so easy compared to that. So that’s why I have no problem doing the things that I do, he always reminds me that I’m a person first instead of an athlete.”
Gauff’s grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom, is a popular person in the tennis world. Back when the 20-year-old star had begun her journey, she was often introduced as Odom’s granddaughter. After Gauff’s US Open victory last year, it turned around and Odom mentioned, “So now I’m known as Coco’s grandmother.“ For Gauff, her grandmother has also been a source of her resilience, showing her the path to speak against injustice.
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Coco Gauff mentions how her grandmother taught her to use her platform for things that matter
This year Gauff turned twenty attaining her right to cast a vote. She used her platform to urge people to vote. She felt that one needs to carefully understand the current American political situation in these dire times. “We aren’t happy with the current state of our government in Florida, So I encourage everyone to vote, and use your voice regardless of who you vote for. There’s no point in complaining (about) the political climate of the world if you don’t exercise your right to vote,” she said.
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While Gauff’s message was inspiring, it took a different turn when she mentioned how her idea of activism came from her grandmother. “She’s the sole, or one of the main, reasons why I use my platform the way that I do and why I feel so comfortable speaking out. She had to deal with a lot of things, like racial injustice,“ Gauff said.
Coco’s heartwarming moment at her Grandma’s showcases her support in Gauff’s journey to become a great player. It showed that Gauff’s family is brimming with pride for her tennis skills and they are the reason for her personality.