Coco Gauff was left stunned when she met Serena Williams for the first time.
The 20-year-old is following in the footsteps of the great legacy left by Serena and her sister Venus, who have 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them.
Gauff is ranked number three in the world and already has a Grand Slam title to her name.
Like the Williams sisters Gauff made a huge impact early in her career and she has set the foundation for a glittering career.
How did Coco Gauff react when she first met Serena Williams?
Coco Gauff was very excited to meet Serena Williams, an inspiration to her and one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
She recalled when 43-year-old was approaching her to have a conversation, as they both happened to be in the same place at the same time.
“Serena and Venus, they’re my idols. So Serena was actually shooting a commercial at the same place I was practicing,” Gauff said during an episode of ‘Hair Me Out’ on Refinery29’s YouTube channel.
“I saw somebody walking and I thought it was like a stunt double of her or something, and I thought ‘that looks like Serena.’
“She was walking over and I just kind of didn’t pay any attention to it and then I realised it was her and I was so excited. She came over there to just give me advice and speak to me.
“I look up to Serena too, with her looks and her hair and how she was never afraid to show her curls or her braids and with the beads, that was so iconic.”
Serena Williams comments on what Coco Gauff can improve
Williams has been a big admirer of Gauff throughout her tennis career. She was delighted to see Gauff become the next American teenager by winning the US Open in 2023.
But while in the crowd for Gauff’s match against Emma Navarro at the 2024 US Open, Williams told ESPN what she thinks the China Open winner can do to take her game to the next level.
“I feel like she has a good serve. I think that it can obviously be better, but I feel like she is so young. Oh my goodness, she has the rest of her career to just improve,” Williams said.
“I wouldn’t change anything on her forehand. I have seen a lot of interesting forehands. And listen, I think if you’re just confident with whatever you have, keep it up and just be confident about it.
“And I think that’s literally all she needs to do, just have confidence whether she’s hitting it with her wrist or her elbow. Just have confidence doing it.”
