Coco Gauff, who made history last week as the youngest-ever qualifier for Wimbledon at 15 years and 122 days old, upset Venus Williams in her opening match on Monday.
However, before she was taking down titans more than twice her age, her tennis journey was inspired by Venus’ sister Serena.
“I think it was the Australian Open we were watching on TV when she was 4 or 5,” said Coco’s father, Corey, according to The Sun. “She saw me jump up celebrating when Serena won, and she said, ‘Daddy, do you like that? I want to do the same thing.’”
Watching one of Serena’s seven Australian Open triumphs helped launch Gauff’s tennis career. The family moved from Georgia to Florida when she was 7 years old so she could receive the best training. Shortly thereafter, Corey quit his pharmaceutical sales job and became his daughter’s full-time coach.
After taking down Venus in straight sets, Gauff got to speak to one of her idols for the first time.
“She said, ‘Congratulations and good luck,’ and that she was super proud of me,” Gauff said. “I was just telling her thank you for everything she’s done. She and her sister have been heroes for me and many other little girls.”
Gauff is set to face 139th-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova on the No. 2 court at approximately 1 p.m. Wednesday. Rybarikova upset 10th-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 in her first-round match.
“I just tell myself: ‘Whatever happens, happens,’” Gauff said. “My motto is ‘Just wing it.’ We’re all going to die one day. I just want to make the most of it.”