Grateful Coco Gauff Unveils How Athletic Parents’ Stern but Uplifting Words Incited Belief in Her to Be the Tennis GOAT

American WTA star Coco Gauff is hitching her wagon to a star on clay season! Thanks to her incredibly successful athletic genes. This reigning US Open champion showed the door to all who criticized her forehand on clay and is prepping up to meet one of her biggest and oldest competitors in the Paris semifinals. As Gauff continues to mesmerize her fans with her skills, she unravels her parents’ role in her journey saying how they “always supported” her dreams.

Coco Gauff, who reached the Roland Garros semifinals against Iga Swiatek, spoke to Olympic.com about how her parents supported all of her dreams. “They always supported me, With their parents, you know, [they were] probably short-sighted with them and how far they felt like they could go. So when I was growing up, my parents made sure to never… if I said, ‘I want to be this.’ ‘I want to be that.’ They never they’re like, ‘No, it’s tough to do that. They were like, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ And, you know, [they told me]: ‘If you want to do that, you have to work hard'”- said the reigning US Open champion.

Coco Gauff’s statements about her parents seem quite natural to her fans given her parents’ athletic success. According to Tennis Time, Coco Gauff’s mother was an established track and field athlete from Florida State University’s team. Coco’s talented mother won the Sun Sentinel Track Athlete of the Year award for two consecutive years. Candy Gauff was also the state-level champion of the heptathlon event at Atlantic High School.

While Coco Gauff’s mother is undoubtedly an established athlete, her father Corey Gauff played basketball for Georgia State University. Following Coco Gauff’s parents’ background, fans are sure that this American Roland Garros 2024 semifinals received her athletic genes from her incredible parents. In fact, Candi and Corey Gauff not only recognized their daughter’s tennis talents but quit their respective jobs to train Coco. This shows why their daughter is so talented and indomitable on the tennis court.

Candi Gauff once told ESPN- “If it wasn’t for the Williams sisters, Coco would not be a tennis player, And if it wasn’t for [the Williams sisters’ father Richard Williams], my husband would not have studied tennis in that format. He’s patented himself off [Richard Williams] and used their roadmap.” Such was Coco Gauff’s parents’ dedication. Gauff’s father also took the six-year-old Gauff to witness Serena Williams’s trophy-lifting moment in the Australian Open, fuelling the little Coco’s dream to be a GOAT.

Indomitable Coco Gauff wanted “to be a GOAT” since her childhood

Coco Gauff’s father Corey Gauff was the one who introduced the little Coco to the word GOAT. While watching Serena lifting the Australian Open trophy, Corey Gauff called the former WTA legend “the GOAT”. Little Gauff who had no clue about the word’s meaning asked her father for an explanation, to which her father told her that it meant “The Greatest of All Time.” After that, young Gauff was so inspired that she said– “I want to be a GOAT.” Since then, Coco Gauff has not only been dreaming of it but working immensely hard to successfully attain that title.

“As a little girl, it was very important to see representation and see myself in players, especially in the field where it is predominantly white. I don’t think I would have had the belief I could do it if it wasn’t for them”- Gauff said.

Coco Gauff’s parents have motivated and helped their daughter with everything to see her where she stands right now professionally. Gauff’s parents not only taught her to win titles in tennis but they also taught Coco to win millions of hearts.