Tennis legend, Serena Williams, is a talisman for many Black women including the current superstar, Coco Gauff. Williams has shown the world that Black women can excel in every aspect, be it sports or business! She has literally aced everything with her glorious touch. For Gauff, “She’s (Serena) someone I look up to. Being in the same stat line as her means a lot to me. She’s my idol.” According to Coco Gauff, Williams’ sisters taught her to fight all the hardships in her career. Recently, during an interview with Baker Tilly US, Gauff talked about the challenge of being a Black woman in a predominantly white sport like tennis.

Just like the Williams sisters, even Coco Gauff has now become the torchbearer of Black women in the racquet sport. Following the footsteps of the Williams sisters has helped her pass all the hurdles that came her way, but she’s still quite unique! What makes her so unique, though? “I mean we’re all one of one, so we’re all unique. There’s never going to be another one of me and there’s never going to be another one of anybody. That’s a cool thing to think about,” said Gauff in the recent video clip released by the Baker Tilly US.

Coco Gauff won the US Open title in 2023 and was recently the first American woman to win the China Open since Serena Williams in 2013. She’s just 20 years old and has already 9 titles in her career. Surely, we’re going to witness a lot of magical moments featuring this American youngster, but how tough was it for her to climb these stairs? “Finding myself was difficult. Being Black in tennis is, sometimes you do stick out like a sore thumb. Like in the Black community, tennis is not a huge thing. Nobody really knew anything about it. I had mentioned that I play tennis but nobody cared.”

What really made the difference in her thinking process? Gauff’s admiration for the Williams sisters is portrayed whenever she tries to look back at her journey. Even this time it was no exception, “I feel like for me, having role models like Serena and Venus to look up to make a difference. Honestly, I just remember watching Venus at the US Open. My dad got second-row tickets and we were so close and that was a cool thing.” All she wants now is to emulate the Williams sisters and become an idol to many other Black women who desire to take this sport seriously. “That’s what pushes me to keep going. Just because the sport is predominantly white, you believe you can do that passion when you see somebody that looks like you being successful. Hopefully, I can be that belief for somebody else,” said Gauff.

Just before the Wuhan Open, Coco Gauff gave a piece of advice to all the aspiring Chinese players who are now hoping to make a name in tennis after Zheng Qinwen’s heroics at the Paris Olympics. Just like the Black women even Asians face a lot of negativities in the sporting world, what message does Gauff have for all the youngsters from this part of the world?

“Try to emulate, but not an exact copy” – Coco Gauff shares a valuable lesson to all the aspiring tennis players

Serena Williams has taken multiple bold steps in her career to make a stand for all the Black women in the sporting world. At 39 years of age, Williams proudly represented the ‘beautiful dark women’ at the British Vogue and hoped her bold moves would bring change in society. During that time she said, “Maybe it doesn’t get better in time for me, but someone in my position can show women and people of color that we have a voice because Lord knows I use mine.”

We saw how Williams used the lack of representation for Black women in the cosmetics industry and sexist comments from all the critics to create her own fashion brand. So, be it tennis or business, she has always tried to set an example for the rest. Her journey has truly been inspiring and taking inspiration from her journey, Coco Gauff is now not only becoming a role model for the Black community but also for the rest of the world.

While addressing the Chinese crowd before the Wuhan Open, we heard Coco Gauff share a few valuable lessons for the rising Chinese tennis players. She said, “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.” She heaped praise on Qinwen Zheng for taking up the responsibility to set an example for her community, just like she and the Williams sisters have been doing over the years.

However, she advised them to, “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.” Share your thoughts on Coco Gauff’s journey from a youngster idolizing superstars of the tennis world to becoming one, herself.