Coco Gauff Details Watching Venus Williams's Legendary Match With Her Boyfriend

Monday, 18 August 2025 at 21:22

byErik Virostko

Coco Gauff has been inspired by the Williams sisters, and she recently watched Venus compete in Washington, and she didn't watch alone.

Gauff is one of the players who looked up to Serena and Venus Williams. Fittingly, it was Venus Williams whom the young American beat in the first round of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.

Now, six years later, Gauff is the WTA World No. 2 player, while Venus is 45, but she continues competing. The legendary player recently played at the Citi Open in Washington and then also the Cincinnati Open.

In Washington, Williams even won a match, beating Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the WTA 500 event. Thousands of fans in the United States watched the match, and Gauff was one of them.

Ahead of the US Open, Gauff sat down with People magazine, and one of the things she talked about was Williams' watch in Washington. At the time, Gauff wasn't competing at any event, so she enjoyed the match with her boyfriend. The 21-year-old revealed she even cooked dinner that night.

"I never cook, but I made dinner that night... Dinner and everything because I was so excited to watch her play. That was the first match I've been excited to watch in a while. My boyfriend was with me, and I was just like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't wait.'"

Gauff also spoke about Williams' longevity. According to the two-time Grand Slam singles champion, seeing Venus compete for so long is inspirational for everyone watching.

"I think for women's tennis it's great just to see the longevity that we can have, especially in a sport like tennis. I don't think it's really that common in any other sport except maybe golf to have this longevity. And I think it's great to see an icon like her still performing at a high level for, at this point, decades, which is impressive."

Will Gauff compete until her 40s like Venus Williams?

Gauff has been on the Tour for six years now. That's a crazy stat, considering she is still only 21 years old. In those six years, she has completed nearly 600 matches across both singles and doubles.

Right now, it seems unthinkable for Gauff to compete until her 40s. Considering she started so early, she would need to compete for almost 30 seasons if she wanted to repeat Williams' feat.

"I don't think I will be able to do that... and I don't think too many players can or will be able to do that. So I think we should cherish the moment while it's here."

After losing in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open, Gauff will focus on her campaign in New York. She will even miss the mixed doubles event because of the sponsor commitments, and after that, she will focus solely on her singles event at Flushing Meadows.