Cori Dionne "Coco" Gauff was born on March 13th, 2004, in Delray Beach, Florida, in the United States, to mother Candi, a track and field athlete, and father Corey Gauff, a former college basketball player at Georgia State University.
Despite starting to play tennis only at the age of six, the American saw herself shoot to stardom earlier than the vast majority of tennis players. At the age of eight, Gauff started working with Gerard Loglo at the New Generation Tennis Academy, and two years later, she was already associated with renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou and his Mouratoglou Academy.
At the age of ten years and three months, she won the USTA Clay Court National 12-and-under and became the youngest champion in the event's history. Almost like every successful tennis player, Gauff also was a world no. 1 in juniors.
She lost to fellow American Amanda Anisimova in the 2017 US Open Girls' final, becoming the youngest girls' singles finalist in the tournament's history. Already next year, Gauff managed to win her first junior Grand Slam title when she won the 2018 Roland Garros Girls' event.
And soon after that, a major breakthrough awaited Gauff on the WTA Tour. At the age of 15 years and three months, she became the youngest player to reach the Wimbledon main draw by qualifying in the Open Era, also recording her maiden Grand Slam appearance.
In her first-ever major match, Gauff defeated seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, and eventually, the American reached the fourth round, where she was stopped by the eventual champion, Simona Halep.
Since that moment, the American saw her fanbase grow at a rapid pace, and her success on the WTA Tour only contributed to that. Still, as a teenager, Gauff regularly achieved results such as the Italian Open semifinal in 2021 and the Roland Garros final against Iga Swiatek in 2022.
Yet, Gauff still missed a big title, and despite being only 19, people started thinking that their expectations may have been too high and that she may not fulfill them. And that's when the American proved everyone wrong.
After previously winning only WTA 250 titles, Gauff won her maiden WTA 500 trophy at the 2023 Citi Open in Washington in August. A few days later, she won her first WTA 1000 title at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters, and soon after that, she won her maiden Grand Slam at the 2023 US Open.
Those few weeks were the most successful in Gauff's career and reminded everyone that she's one of the biggest talents that the sport has ever seen, winning her first major title at the age of 19.
