Coco Guaff, a familiar face in the U.S. Open since the age of 8, dancing in the stands only dreaming of stepping foot on the court, 11 years later, pursuing her childhood dreams. With 23,000 sets of eyes following her and the game back and forth, left and right, wearing her blazing red outfit parallel to her stamina and resilience. Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open title, making her younger self the proudest person on the planet alongside her tearful father and astonished mom, her biggest supporters.
For centuries, Tennis has been a widely watched sport. Annually, in the fall chatter begins about the U.S. Open, played since 1895. The U.S. Open, a competition with both a women’s and men’s bracket is one of four tournaments that make up the Grand Slam of tennis. The others include the French Open, the Australian Open, and the Wimbledon Championships. (Britannica). On September 9, 2023, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium Court, Coco Gauff played a two-hour and six-minute match against Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka, winning in the third set. Guaff lost 2 points to 6 in the first set, won 6 points to 2 in the second set, and ended the game 6 to 2 in the third set. (CNBC.com)
Cori Dionne Gauff (Coco) was born on March 13, 2004, in Delray Beach, Florida. For the majority of her childhood, she dedicated her life to Tennis and dreamed of her name on billboards. She told her parents she wanted to be the best tennis player in the world (biography.com).
At the age of 7, Coco trained two hours a day with professional tennis players for multiple days a week. At 10 years old, Coco attended a French Tennis school run by Patrick Mouratoglou, a professional tennis player who worked with Serena Williams (Britannica.com).
In 2019, Coco Gauff played in the Wimbledon Tournament where she rose to fame by beating Venus Williams (39 at the time) when she was just 15 years old. According to Birtannica, Coco Gauff said, “‘I was just telling her thank you for everything she’s done for the sport, She’s been an inspiration for many people. I was just really telling her thank you.’” The moment was bittersweet but Coco Gauff was just so honored to play against her childhood idol and have the opportunity to exchange a few words with the women who started it all for her (Britannica.com).
Sophomore Lana Jepsen says, “After her win, I was interested in learning more about her and started following her on social media and looking into her life story. I think she definitely deserved the win. She worked very hard and sacrificed a lot to get where she is today. I think she has a great career ahead of her.”
Coco Gauff also uses her platform on social media to help spread awareness of the activism she promotes. Because she is a black woman, Coco Gauff faces a lot of racial injustice and talks about that a lot on her accounts. She wants to make a change in the world and the sports industry to create equal opportunities for minorities as well (Parents.com).
History teacher Mr Verdon shares, “It was exciting to hear about Coco Gauff’s win at the U.S. Open in September. Working at a school with so many talented young athletes, I understand the level of commitment — physically and mentally — that players need to be successful. Gauff is still very young (only 19!), so it will be interesting to follow her career in the coming years and see how far she goes.” Ramapo is home to a great athletic department and students who are extremely skilled in their sports. Some Ramapo students look up to athletes like Coco Gauff who defy the odds and prove their commitment and skill to the world. Looking up to famous and well known athletes can help you find something to strive for, just like Coco Gauff, who looked up to Venus Williams. You too can make your dreams come true and defy the odds.
