Father recalls how five-year-old Coco Gauff made a “GOAT” pledge after watching a Serena Williams final

Watching television is not usually the first step to greatness. But for Coco Gauff, what she saw on the screen at age 5, put her life on an upward trajectory that continues to this day.

The father of the USA tennis ace, Corey Gauff, recalled in a recently released Rolex YouTube series “Game Changer” how the two of them watched Serena Williams win her fifth Australian Open title in 2010.

“I remember saying, ‘Man, she’s going to be the GOAT’," Corey Gauff said. "And [Coco] said, ‘What is the GOAT?’ And I said, ‘That’s the Greatest of All Time’, and she’s like, ‘I want to be a GOAT!' So I ran out and bought her a racquet. That’s how it all started.”

With her new racquet in tow, Gauff headed out to the public courts in Delray Beach, Florida and learned how to play tennis with her father acting as her coach. While the current world No. 2 faced moments of self-doubt on her journey, the example of 23-time singles Grand Slam winner Williams gave her hope that her dreams could also come true.

“Growing up, it was never a thought for me to be a professional tennis player," Gauff said in the video. "Especially in the black community, even now, tennis is still so uncommon.”

Gauff won her first tournament at age 8, three years after first stepping onto a tennis court.

In 2019, aged 15, she became the youngest woman in history to qualify for Wimbledon, where she beat Serena’s older sister Venus Williams, becoming the youngest player to win a match at the tournament since 1991. She ultimately advanced to the Round of 16.

At the 2022 French Open, Gauff made her first Grand Slam final. The following year, at the 2023 US Open, she won her first Grand Slam.

“The fact that I can say I have a Grand Slam is crazy. But there’s a lot more in life than just your sport," Gauff said. "You can inspire people to do things, not just from playing, but who you are as a person."

Serena Williams had inspired her, now Coco Gauff hopes to do the same for the next generation of young girls.

Gauff will next compete at the French Open and is set to face Australia's Olivia Gadecki in the first round on Sunday, 25 May.

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