Coco Gauff facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Coco Gauff

Gauff at the 2022 US Open
Full name	Cori Dionne Gauff
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Delray Beach, Florida, US
Born	(2004-03-13) March 13, 2004 (age 21) Atlanta, Georgia, US
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Turned pro	2018
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Matt Daly (2024–)
Prize money	US$ 24,368,100 18th in all-time rankings
Singles
Career record	260–107
Career titles	10
Highest ranking	No. 2 (June 10, 2024)
Current ranking	No. 2 (May 19, 2025)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (2024)
French Open	W (2025)
Wimbledon	4R (2019, 2021, 2024)
US Open	W (2023)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (2024)
Olympic Games	3R (2024)
Doubles
Career record	144–66
Career titles	9
Highest ranking	No. 1 (August 15, 2022)
Current ranking	No. 22 (May 5, 2025)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2023)
French Open	W (2024)
Wimbledon	QF (2024)
US Open	F (2021)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2022, 2023)
Olympic Games	2R (2024)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	SF (2022)
US Open	2R (2018)
Other mixed doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	QF (2024)

Cori Dionne "Coco" Gauff (born March 13, 2004) is an American professional tennis player. She's a big star in the tennis world! The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has ranked her as high as world No. 2 in singles (playing by herself) and world No. 1 in doubles (playing with a partner).

Coco has won ten singles titles in her career. This includes two Grand Slam titles, which are the biggest tournaments in tennis. She won the 2023 US Open and the 2025 French Open. She also won the 2024 WTA Finals, another very important tournament. In doubles, she has won nine titles, including the 2024 French Open with her partner Kateřina Siniaková.

Coco started playing on the WTA Tour (the main tour for professional women tennis players) in March 2019 when she was just 15. She got a special invitation, called a wildcard, to play in the qualifying matches for the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. She became the youngest player ever to qualify for the main part of that tournament. At Wimbledon, she famously beat tennis legend Venus Williams and made it to the fourth round. Coco won her first WTA Tour singles title at the 2019 Linz Open.

She has continued to impress. She reached her first Grand Slam final in doubles at the 2021 US Open and her first Grand Slam singles final at the 2022 French Open. In 2023, Coco won her first WTA 1000 title (a very important type of tournament) at the Cincinnati Open. This was followed by her amazing win at the US Open. The next year, she won the WTA Finals, and in 2025, she won her second Grand Slam singles title at the French Open.

Early life and background

Coco Gauff was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 13, 2004. Her parents are Candi and Corey Gauff, and they are both from Delray Beach, Florida. Coco has two younger brothers. Her dad played college basketball at Georgia State University and later worked in health care. Her mom was a track and field athlete at Florida State University and worked as a teacher.

Coco spent her first few years in Atlanta. She started playing tennis when she was six years old. When she was seven, her family moved back to Delray Beach so she could have better training opportunities. From the age of eight, she trained with Gerard Loglo at the New Generation Tennis Academy.

Coco once said, "I wasn't much of a team person. I loved tennis." She admitted that at first, she didn't always want to practice. But after playing a tournament called 'Little Mo' when she was eight, she decided tennis was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Coco's parents made big sacrifices for her tennis career. Her dad became her main coach, even though he didn't have a lot of experience playing tennis himself. Her mom took care of her homeschooling. When Coco was 10, she started training at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France. This academy is run by Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Serena Williams for a long time. Mouratoglou said he was very impressed by Coco's determination and spirit when she first came to his academy. He helped support her training through his Champ'Seed foundation, which helps talented young players who need financial help.

Even at a young age, Coco was a champion. She won the USTA Clay Court National 12-and-under title when she was just 10 years and three months old, making her the youngest champion in that tournament's history.

Junior tennis career

Coco Gauff was a top-ranked junior player, even reaching world No. 1. At age 12, she played in a famous under-14 tournament called Les Petits As and reached the semifinals. When she was 13, she started playing on the ITF Junior Circuit, which is like the junior version of the professional tour. She immediately played in the highest-level junior tournaments.

In her third junior event, she was the runner-up at the Grade 1 Prince George's County Junior Tennis Championships. She then made her junior Grand Slam debut at the 2017 US Open and finished as the runner-up to Amanda Anisimova. This made her the youngest girls' singles finalist in US Open history.

Big wins as a junior

In 2018, Coco won her first junior Grand Slam title at the 2018 French Open. She didn't lose a single set until the final match! This victory made her the fifth youngest girls' singles champion in French Open history. A month later, after another win, she became the No. 1 ranked junior player in the world.

Coco also had success in doubles. She won her first junior Grand Slam doubles title at the 2018 US Open with her partner Caty McNally. In September 2018, Coco helped the United States win the Junior Fed Cup. She finished the year by winning another important singles title at the Orange Bowl.

Professional tennis career

Coco started playing professional matches on the ITF Women's Circuit in May 2018 when she was 14. She won her first professional match at a $25k event in Osprey.

2018–2019: First big wins and titles

In 2019, Coco made her WTA Tour debut at the Miami Open, where she won her first WTA Tour match against Caty McNally. Her big breakthrough came at the Wimbledon Championships. After winning three qualifying matches, she became the youngest player in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach the main draw at Wimbledon, at age 15. In her first main-draw match, she caused a huge upset by defeating five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams. She continued to win, reaching the fourth round before losing to the eventual champion, Simona Halep. Her matches were very popular and watched by many people. This performance helped her ranking jump to world No. 141.

Later that year, Coco and Caty McNally won their first WTA doubles title at the Washington Open. At the US Open, Coco reached the third round in singles, where she lost to then-world No. 1 Naomi Osaka. In October, she won her first WTA singles title at the Linz Open as a "lucky loser" (a player who loses in qualifying but gets into the main draw because another player withdraws). She beat top-10 player Kiki Bertens on her way to the title, becoming the youngest WTA player to win a singles title since 2004. This helped her break into the top 100 in both singles and doubles rankings.

2020: Progress at the Australian Open

At the Australian Open, Coco again defeated Venus Williams in the first round. She then beat defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round. This made her the youngest player to beat a top-5 player since 1991. She lost in the fourth round to Sofia Kenin, who went on to win the tournament. In doubles, Coco and McNally reached the quarterfinals, their best Grand Slam result together at the time.

2021: Reaching the Top 20 and a Grand Slam quarterfinal

Gauff at the 2021 French Open

In May 2021, Coco reached her first semifinal at a WTA 1000 tournament at the Italian Open. This helped her enter the top 30 in the world rankings for the first time. She then won her second singles title and third doubles title (with McNally) at the Emilia-Romagna Open. This made her the youngest player to win both singles and doubles titles at an event since Maria Sharapova in 2004. Her ranking rose to No. 25 in singles.

At the French Open, Coco reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. She was the youngest player to do so at a Grand Slam since 2006. She lost to the eventual champion, Barbora Krejčíková. This performance pushed her ranking to No. 23. At Wimbledon, she reached the fourth round for the second time. Coco was selected for the 2020 Summer Olympics but had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. At the US Open, she and McNally reached their first Grand Slam doubles final, finishing as runners-up.

2022: Grand Slam final and World No. 1 in doubles

In February 2022, Coco and her new doubles partner Jessica Pegula won their first WTA 1000 doubles title at the Qatar Open. This helped Coco reach the top 10 in the doubles rankings. Coco reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the French Open, where she lost to Iga Świątek. She also reached the doubles final with Pegula. These results moved her to world No. 13 in singles and into the top 5 in doubles.

At the Canadian Open, Coco and Pegula won their second WTA 1000 doubles title together. This incredible achievement made Coco the No. 1 doubles player in the world on August 15, 2022. At the US Open, she reached the quarterfinals in singles for the first time, which helped her enter the top 10 in the singles rankings. In October, Coco qualified for the year-end WTA Finals in both singles and doubles, a rare accomplishment.

2023: Winning the US Open

Coco started 2023 by winning the Auckland Open. She and Jessica Pegula also defended their doubles title at the Qatar Ladies Open and won the doubles title at the Miami Open. In August, Coco won the Washington Open, her first WTA 500 singles title. She then won her first WTA 1000 singles title at the Cincinnati Open, beating world No. 1 Iga Świątek in the semifinals.

The biggest moment of her career so far came in September when Coco won the US Open. This was her first Grand Slam singles title! She beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final and became the first American teenager to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999. After this win, her singles ranking rose to world No. 3.

2024: Winning the WTA Finals and French Open doubles

At the Italian Open, Coco reached the semifinals in singles. At the 2024 French Open, she teamed up with Kateřina Siniaková to win her first Grand Slam doubles title. In singles at the same tournament, she reached the semifinals, and her ranking climbed to a career-high of world No. 2.

Coco was chosen to be a flag-bearer for the United States at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, alongside basketball star LeBron James. She was the youngest American athlete ever to have this honor. In November, Coco won the 2024 WTA Finals singles championship. She was the youngest player to win this prestigious year-end tournament since Maria Sharapova in 2004 and the first American to win it since Serena Williams in 2014.

2025: Winning the French Open singles title

Coco began the 2025 season by helping the United States win the United Cup. She won all her matches in the tournament. At the 2025 French Open, Coco defeated Aryna Sabalenka to win her second Grand Slam singles title. This was her first French Open singles win and the first for an American athlete since Serena Williams in 2015.

Playing style and coaching

Coco Gauff's favorite court surface is hard courts. She describes her playing style as very aggressive. She has a powerful serve. When she's on defense, she uses her amazing speed and athleticism to stay in points and chase down balls.

From July 2023 to September 2024, her coach was Brad Gilbert. He encouraged her to hit the ball with a lot of high, heavy topspin. In September 2024, Coco hired Matt Daly as her coach. He has been working on improving her serve and forehand.

Endorsements and sponsorships

Coco Gauff is sponsored by several well-known companies. She uses Head rackets and wears New Balance clothes and shoes. In 2018, she signed her first big sponsorship deal with New Balance. In 2019, she partnered with the Italian food company Barilla, which also sponsors Roger Federer. In 2023, she became a brand ambassador for Baker Tilly, an advisory firm.

At the 2024 Australian Open, Coco wore special New Balance shoes. They had geographic coordinates on the soles that pointed to the public tennis courts in Delray Beach where she grew up playing tennis. In 2024, she also collaborated with fashion brand Miu Miu and New Balance.

Personal life

Coco Gauff is a Christian. She has said that she and her father pray before every match for safety for herself and her opponent. After winning big tournaments, she often thanks God.

Her tennis idols are Serena and Venus Williams. She has said they are the reason she wanted to play tennis. Coco first met Serena when she was eight years old. After beating Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019, Coco thanked Venus for being an inspiration.

Coco has talked about feeling pressure and stress related to her sports career. Her parents have clarified that she was not diagnosed with clinical depression and did not need medical help for her psychological well-being.

She is a fan of anime, including My Hero Academia. In July 2023, Coco and actress Storm Reid helped pay for a new playground and purple-painted tennis courts in a park in East Atlanta.

Career statistics

Here's a look at how Coco Gauff has performed in the biggest tennis tournaments.

Grand Slam tournament performance timelines

"W" means she won the tournament. "F" means she was the finalist (runner-up). "SF" means she reached the semifinals. "QF" means she reached the quarterfinals. "xR" means she reached a certain round (e.g., 4R is fourth round). "A" means she did not play in the tournament. "NH" means the tournament was not held.

Singles

Doubles

Grand Slam tournament finals

These are the finals of the four most important tournaments in tennis.

Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	2022	French Open	Clay	Iga Świątek	1–6, 3–6
Win	2023	US Open	Hard	Aryna Sabalenka	2–6, 6–3, 6–2
Win	2025	French Open	Clay	Aryna Sabalenka	6–7(5–7), 6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2021	US Open	Hard	Caty McNally	Samantha Stosur Zhang Shuai	3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	2022	French Open	Clay	Jessica Pegula	Caroline Garcia Kristina Mladenovic	6–2, 3–6, 2–6
Win	2024	French Open	Clay	Kateřina Siniaková	Sara Errani Jasmine Paolini	7–6(7–5), 6–3

Year-end championships finals

This is the final of the tournament held at the end of the year for the top-ranked players.

Singles: 1 (title)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	2024	WTA Finals, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Hard (i)	Zheng Qinwen	3–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–2)

See also

In Spanish: Cori Gauff para niños