Wimbledon 2024: ‘Homesick’ Coco Gauff Reveals Two Pillars of Support That Help Her Cope With Taxing Tennis Schedule

After the French Open 2024, Coco Gauff became World No.2 for the very first time. Now the upcoming Wimbledon will be her first major as the second seed. Her schedule is tight. As she lands in different countries to pick new tennis wins, home calls to her.

Thankfully, she doesn’t lack any support from her loved ones. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, she talked about her dynamics with her parents. The 20-year-old mentioned, “There are times, yes, I do feel homesick and feel overwhelmed. But I am thankful that my parents are able to travel with me a lot, so they help a lot.”

However, Corey and Candi Gauff have done way more than just travel with their daughter. Coco Gauff was just a five-year-old when she saw Serena Williams on television, giving her opponent a tough time. It was the Australian Open and Williams won it. When her father explained that Williams was the ‘GOAT’, Gauff too made a decision right then and there. One day, she would also be the GOAT!

But who is the second pillar of support? She has the support of her pals as well, who can be seen cheering for her in the stadium quite often. On this front, Gauff said, “Every now and then, some of my friends will be able to pop in for a couple of days before a tournament or something.”

On a similar note, she shared with PEOPLE that some of her friends will be present in London to support her Wimbledon aspirations. Additionally, she also revealed that her boyfriend would attend her future competitions. “My boyfriend, he’ll probably come to maybe some tournaments in the U.S. It’s just a little bit easier than coming to Europe,” she shared.

While Coco Gauff has not revealed her boyfriend’s name, people are quite sure that it is Jalen Sera. Their Instagram interactions have added a lot to these rumors. However, let us come back to Gauff’s biggest supporter. Her father.

Coco Gauff: A pink tennis from her father started it all!

Gauff’s father, Corey, was a basketball player during his youth but later, gave up his passion so that his daughter could pursue tennis. The American tennis sensation came from a humble background and had basic facilities to start off with. When she showed an interest in the sport because of Williams, Corey got her a pink racket.

With that, tiny Coco would practice playing by hitting the ball against the garage walls. No doubt, she regularly acknowledges how much her parents helped her reach where she is today.

In March 2024, in a perfect ode to her father, Gauff revealed, “So I think that’s just more where I come from and just the people that raised me always taught me to uplift the other people around me. I was taught from a very young age of the privilege that I have, and the way that my dad grew up was definitely not, you know, not the best childhood.”

Clearly, she has come a long way. She went from practicing in her garage to defeating Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon in 2019. She looks forward to the upcoming Wimbledon Championships as well as the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Do you think Coco Gauff can be the Greatest of All Time? Share your thoughts in the comments below.