Coco Vandeweghe is a former American professional tennis player who has played on the WTA Tour since 2008.
| Date of Birth: | 6 December 1991 |
| Birthplace: | New York City, United States |
| Residence: | Rancho Santa Fe, California, United States |
| Height: | 6'1" (185 cm) |
| Weight: | 154 lbs (70 kg) |
| Plays: | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Turned Pro: | 2008 |
CoCo Vandeweghe (born Colleen Mullarkey) was born on December 6, 1991, to 1976 Olympic swimmer Tauna Vandeweghe and Robert Mullarkey. She did not start playing tennis until the age of 11, after trying several other sports, such as basketball. Vandeweghe did not compete in many junior events and needed a wildcard to enter the 2008 US Open girls’ singles.
But she took full advantage of that opportunity by winning the tournament. This ended up being the last junior event that she participated in. The American’s first WTA victory came at the LA Women’s Tennis Championships against Tathiana Garbin. She then had a bigger breakthrough at the WTA 1000 tournament in Tokyo in 2010, where she reached the quarterfinal as a qualifier.
Vandeweghe ended a season ranked inside the Top 100 for the first time in 2012. This was mostly due to reaching her first WTA final in July at the Silicon Valley Classic. She achieved this as a lucky loser after initially losing in the qualifying round. Vandeweghe lost the final in straight sets to Serena Williams.
After slipping out of the Top 100 again in 2013, Vandeweghe had a strong 2014 season. She claimed her first WTA title on the grass courts at the Libema Open. This included a quarterfinal win against future Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza before beating Zheng Jie in the final.
Other good results in 2014 saw her end the year inside the Top 50. Vandeweghe made her first appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. She progressed to that stage without dropping a set before losing in three sets to Maria Sharapova.
The American had more grass-court success the following year, winning the Rosmalen Open once again to obtain a second title. 2017 was the best year of Vandeweghe’s career. She began the season by making her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open.
That run included a thrilling three-set triumph against Eugenie Bouchard and prevailing against Muguruza once again in the quarterfinal. Vandeweghe lost the semifinal 7-6, 2-6, 3-6 to Venus Williams. After another quarterfinal run at Wimbledon, Vandeweghe also reached the US Open semifinal.
She defeated the No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinal but was then blown away 1-6, 2-6 by her close friend Madison Keys in the semifinal. Those achievements saw Vandeweghe qualify for the WTA Elite Trophy. She reached the final of that event, but lost out to Julia Gorges.
Vandeweghe’s results saw her end the year ranked No. 10 in the world. She also won the 2017 Billie Jean King Cup with Team USA during that memorable season. Sadly, Vandeweghe was severely hampered by injuries after the 2018 season.
After several setbacks and declining results, Vandeweghe retired from tennis at the 2023 San Diego Open. She went out in memorable fashion by reaching the doubles final at the event, alongside Danielle Collins.
