Venus Williams recently celebrated 30 years since making her professional debut, and Coco Gauff discussed the tennis legend's legacy.
Williams' first match was on October 31st, 1994, at the Silicon Valley Classic. She played and defeated Shaun Stafford to begin one of the most iconic careers in the sport's history.
The American posted on social media to mark 30 years since that victory against Stafford, saying she never knew that moment would change her life and so many others.
On the court, Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, including five at Wimbledon. She also secured 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister Serena Williams, who was even more successful than Venus during her extraordinary career.
However, Venus' on-court influence was not just related to her results. She also possessed a powerful baseline game combined with superb athleticism, the likes of which women's tennis had never seen before.
The emergence of Serena not long after led to the sisters transforming how tennis on the WTA Tour was played. The top players now are all incredible athletes who are formidable baseline hitters. The normalization of that style started with the Williams sisters.
Venus also had a huge influence off the court. She played a key role in the French Open and Wimbledon, finally introducing equal prize money in 2007, and has been a vocal advocate for racial and gender equality.
Gauff, who beat Venus in her breakthrough tournament at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, does not hide how inspirational Venus and Serena were for her when she started playing tennis as a child.
The 20-year-old recently stated in an interview that Venus and Serena helped her deal with sticking out like a sore thumb as a person of color in what continues to be a predominantly white sport.
Venus is also a huge fan of Gauff's. The five-time Wimbledon champion recently said she wants her to win every match she plays. Those words from one of her idols undoubtedly mean a lot to Gauff.
In the Instagram post marking thirty years since her debut, Williams tagged Serena, Gauff, and Naomi Osaka, showing that the former world no. 1 is aware of the impact she had on their careers.
Gauff spoke about Venus' legacy in a recent interview. She pointed to her influence in areas like equal prize money and other equality issues but also said that Venus wearing braids at a time when they were not widely accepted inspired her.
"Obviously I'm someone who wears braids a lot, and seeing that she was able to do that 30 years ago, maybe where the space wasn't as receptive of this type of hair, is important."
"Just her legacy, I hope to do half of what she's done for, not only just tennis, but prize money equality, women's equality, racial equality, all of that. She's someone that I look up to a lot when it comes to that."
Her achievements have been incredible, but Venus' career is not over. She intends to play more tournaments in 2025.
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