20-Year-Old Coco Gauff Cuts an Idolizing Figure as American Peer Sends Adulatory Message

At 20, Coco Gauff is already an inspiring figure. There have been many youngsters in history to lift Grand Slam victories at a young age, but Gauff stands apart. She not only won her first Grand Slam title last year but has also become quite an influential figure for young Americans to look up to in the sport.

Recently, Clervie Ngounoue, a 17-year-old American tennis player, was seen following the US Open champion during the Indian Wells. Looking into the young Americans’ interactions with each other, let’s look at how Gauff came a long way and unexpectedly became influential for the other players.

From Ascending Star to Inspirational Figure: Coco Gauff motivates others

Even though the world number three faced an exit in the semi-final round of the tournament against Maria Sakkari, there are other parts of being a player that she has proved to be good at. Such as being vocal with her thoughts and standing on various controversial topics. Recently, a video was posted by the WTA in which Clervie Ngounoue followed Coco Gauff around during a media day.

The 17-year-old tennis player stated, “So, I am following Coco around to kind of get like that media experience. And now doing that, I realize, I’ve done all this before, but one time only, and she’s done it a million.” 

Not only that, Ngounoue also opened up about following the 20-year-old as an idol, trying to gain knowledge from her. She added, “This is why I was very much open to following a top player during Media Day. Just following her around and, kinda having fun with it and, gaining a ton of knowledge.”

Although she might be the one standing as an inspiration for others, where does the US Open champion’s inspiration come from?

What inspires Gauff to give her best? 

A few months ago, just after winning the US Open, Coco Gauff elaborated on how haters are one of her biggest motivators, both on and off the court. She stated, “I wouldn’t say negativity is something that’s welcome. It’s more, I don’t know, something that I draw inspiration from. I wouldn’t recommend everybody to do that.”

Along with that, Gauff also highlighted how there is a lot of negativity, even at a young age, with her becoming a topic of online conversation every now and then. Further, the 20-year-old explained that there were a lot of comments that went out of hand and added her take on the renowned debate over online players.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Gauff’s becoming an inspiration? Do let us know in the comment section below.

Read more: $5.3 Billion Supergiant’s Iconic Coco Gauff Apparel Etched in Tennis History as the Legendary US Open Run Gets Apt Recognition