US Open, teenage prodigy, activist: Everything you always wanted to know about Coco Gauff (but never had time to find out) – updated after winning 2024 WTA Finals
American Coco Gauff has already become a household name in tennis circles. Get to know more about the precocious talent that has been turning heads for the last few seasons, both on and off the court
Coco Gauff, 2020 Australian Open
Who is Coco Gauff?
Coco Gauff is an American tennis player and one of the best players on the WTA Tour. In 2023, aged 19, she became the youngest woman to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999. It is her only major title to date. She reached her first career Grand Slam final at the French Open in 2022. She has won nine WTA singles titles, including three in 2023. She reached a career-high world No 2 in 2024, and has also been ranked world No 1 in doubles, playing mostly with Jessica Pegula.
How did Coco Gauff fare at the 2024 WTA Finals?
Gauff won two of her three matches in the round robin stage to qualify for the semi-finals. The American defeated countrywoman Jessia Pegula and then scored only her second career win over Iga Swiatek to assure herself for a semi-final berth.
In her final group match, she went down to Czech Barbora Krejcikova but then recovered to beat world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
She met Zheng Qinwen in the final, beating the Chinese No 1 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) to clinch the title.
What did Coco Gauff do in Beijing in 2024?
Coco Gauff won her second WTA 1000 title and the eighth title of her career as she beat Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-3 to win in Beijing. It was the first title for Gauff since January of 2024 and her first since she hired Matt Daly as her new coach just before the tournament.
Who is Gauff’s coach?
Coco Gauff is coached by Matt Daly and Jean Christophe Faurel.
Gauff split with her most recent coach, Brad Gilbert, on September 18, 2024, in the wake of a disappointing US Open performance.
Former men’s No 4 Gilbert, who coached Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick to the world No 1 ranking, joined the team in July 2023. The pair initially had great success, with Gauff winning her first WTA 500, WTA 1000 and Grand Slam titles under the American’s tutelage. However, 2024 saw her fail to make a single final beyond her first event of the season, with the pair announcing their split 10 days after she lost in the fourth round of the US Open.
Ahead of the China Open, Gauff announced that she had added Daly to her team. The 45-year-old American is a former collegiate player who represented the University of Notre Dame, and has since gone on to become a technique and grip specialist. Gauff shared that Daly will initially be helping her work on her serve, which has been an issue for her across much of the 2024 season.
Gauff has also worked with Patrick Mouratoglou, who spotted her when she was 10 years old and helped her family with the ChampSeed program. She visits the Frenchman’s academy for training blocks for 10 years. Mouratoglou helped Gauff to restart her 2023 season during the clay period, driving her to the 2023 Roland-Garros quarter-finals.
Gauff was also previously coached by Spaniard Pere Riba, who was part of the team when Gauff won the US Open.
What is Coco Gauff’s best ranking?
Coco Gauff reached her career high of world No 2 in June 2024, off the back of a semi-final run at Roland-Garros. You can find her current ranking and rankings history on her WTA Tour profile page.
What did Coco Gauff do at the US Open in 2023?
Gauff won the title at her home Grand Slam on September 9, 2023. The 19-year-old beat former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko along the way before defeating Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5 in the semi-finals to reach her second Grand Slam final (having finished runner-up to Iga Swiatek at Roland-Garros in 2022). Gauff then upset soon-to-be world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the championship match.
This title formed part a WTA season-best 16-match winning streak for Coco Gauff, also winning the Southern and Western Open in Cincinnati prior to New York, before reaching the semi-finals of the China Open in Beijing, where her streak was ended by Iga Swiatek.
what did coco gauff achieve at roland-garros in 2024?
Coco Gauff reached the semi-finals of Roland-Garros in 2024. It marked the third consecutive Grand Slam that she had made it to at least the last four.
However, she was outclassed by Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals. The Pole beat her 6-2, 6-4 as she extended their head-to-head to 11-1 in her favour.
what did coco gauff do at the 2024 paris olympics?
Coco Gauff reached the third round of the women’s singles at the Paris Olympics, losing to Donna Vekic 7-6 (7), 6-2 in a controversial match after an erroneous line call triggered an argument between Gauff and the umpire.
Gauff also lost in the second round of the women’s doubles when playing alongside Jessica Pegula. The pair lost to Czech team Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.
Gauff also competed in the mixed doubles alongside Taylor Fritz, but the pair lost in the quarter-finals to eventual bronze medallists for Canada, Auger-Aliassime and Dabrowski.
Coco Gauff’s next appearance was after a quick turnaround from the Olympics, playing in the National Bank Open in Toronto just the next week. She lost to Diana Shnaider in the second round to continue a disappointing run of early exits across her 2024 summer.
Gauff then lost in her opening-round match at the Cincinnati Open, going down to Yulia Putintseva in three sets. Gauff was the defending champion, but slipped down to third in the rankings after losing most of her points from the previous year.
What was Coco Gauff’s biggest title before the 2023 US Open?
Coco Gauff won her first WTA 1000 title on August 20, 2023 when she beat Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-4 in the final of Cincinnati. The teenager won her third title of the year with a superb performance.
Biggest title of her career! 🏆@Cocogauff defeats Muchova 6-3, 6-4 for her 3rd title this year and 5th of her career! #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/TPriB7V4X5
— wta (@WTA) August 20, 2023
How many Grand Slam finals has Coco Gauff reached?
Gauff has reached two finals and won one. Gauff reached the final of Roland-Garros in June of 2022. She lost to world No 1 Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-3 in 68 minutes.
During her run to the final, she drew attention for writing on a TV camera: “End gun violence.” It was in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which has led to more discussions in the USA over gun control.
Her US Open triumph in 2023 marked her second major final appearance.
How old is Coco Gauff?
Coco Gauff was born on March 13, 2004, and turned 20 in 2024.
Who are her family?
Her parents are Corey, a former basketball player at Georgia State University, and Candi, who competed in Track and Field and Florida State University. Her brothers are Codey, four years younger than her, and Cameron, nine years younger than her. Coco’s real first name is Cori, but she is widely known as Coco.
When did Gauff win her first Grand Slam match?
Gauff qualified at Wimbledon in 2019 and then stunned Venus Williams in the first round. She would reach the second week that year and become the youngest player to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon since 1991. She was 15 at the time.
When did Gauff win her first WTA match?
Gauff won her first WTA match at the Miami Open in 2019, when she defeated her longtime doubles partner Caty McNally in the first round. Gauff won her first WTA title at Linz in October of 2019.
Who sponsors Coco Gauff?
The American plays with Head racquets and wears New Balance attire. She is a brand ambassador for Barilla, the pasta company, and American Eagle. She is represented by Roger Federer’s management company, Team 8, and agent Tony Godsick.
Who is Coco Gauff’s boyfriend?
Gauff mentioned the existence of a partner during her press conference following her win at the US Open 2023 in New York, saying: “Last night, I started a little bit (to picture what she would do in case of win), but honestly, I just called my boyfriend, and I told him let’s talk until it’s time to go to sleep so we spoke until 1:00 a.m. and then I went to sleep.” She did not mention his identity, was not questioned about it by the reporters and no clue appeared on social media.
In a cover shoot and interview with Vogue in its April 2024 edition, she revealed her boyfriend was not a tennis player. “He’s a very nice guy,” she said. “He’s in school now. He’s about to apply for music school. He wants to be an actor and he plays the guitar.
“He’s actually from Atlanta. And actually, um, I will say this: People on Twitter found him two or three days ago. I won’t respond and confirm if it’s him or not, but they caught me in the comments, so they know.”
How many WTA titles has Gauff won?
Coco Gauff has won nine WTA titles, as of November 8, 2024. She owns an 9-1 lifetime record in finals, including 4-0 in 2023 with triumphs in Auckland, Washington, DC, Cincinnati and at the US Open. She won her ninth and most recent title by winning the WTA Finals in November, 2024, beating Zheng Qinwen in the final.
How much prize money has Coco Gauff won in her career?
As of November 9, 2024, Coco Gauff has won $16,776,989 in prize money during her career, in singles and doubles combined. You can see her latest prize money figures on the WTA website.
What did Gauff do during the Covid-19 quarantine?
Gauff became a vocal leader in the movement for racial justice in America by using her social media platforms to share her message. She even gave a powerful speech in Florida that went viral on social media. “If you are choosing silence you are choosing the side of the oppressor,” she said.
In February, 2024, Gauff was named to Time Magazine’s prestigious Woman of the Year list. “It was to the point where I was crying about it, because I felt like I had to say something,” Gauff was quoted as saying in the Time article. (As she told the crowd in Delray Beach): “If you are choosing silence, you’re choosing the side of the oppressor.”
What is Coco Gauff’s favourite city?
The American adores Paris, and was a champion as a junior at Roland-Garros in 2018 as a 14-year-old.
Does Gauff embrace social media?
Yes! Gauff has an Instagram account with 1.8 million followers as of November 8, 2024, and an official X/ Twitter account with 369,800 followers. She’s also active on TikTok with 728,000 followers.
What are Coco Gauff’s hobbies?
During Wimbledon 2024, Coco Gauff was asked what she liked to do in her spare time during tournaments. She mentioned that she is learning French, and enjoys reading and watching TV as well as crochet. She also likes the theatre, saying: “I think they have ‘The Lion King’ [in London’s West End], but I’ve already seen that, like, six times. I can make it seven!”
