Coco Gauff openly admires Serena Williams! Not only because of her tennis skills and how she has done well as an American tennis player but there is a lot more to the story. Do you know how 19-year-olds get into the sporting world? She recently, after making it to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, revealed the secret behind how she reached bed sheets today.

The fourth-seeded tennis player detailed how going for the 23-time Grand Slam champion inspired the peanut sensation to take up a career-changing childhood move. Let’s take a look at how the younger Gauff found her way into tennis with the help of Williams.

How did Serena Williams help Coco Gauff find a way into tennis?

After making it to her first Australian Open semi-finals and achieving a great memory for her tennis career, she opened up about how she got into the sport. During the post-match press conference, she revealed that back when she was just 10, there was a great opportunity that she found in Patrick Mouratoglou’s training center when he was training the 42-year-old tennis legend.

She said, “Patrick Mouratoglou. I mean, he was coaching Serena Williams at the time, and she was my idol. It wasn’t really a decision — like, I got invited over there when I was 10.” Along with that, she also highlighted that at that time, it wasn’t really her decision to use that opportunity; it was her parents who chose to go for that program.

Further, she also highlighted an update about that program and how it gave her a lot of exposure that she might have never anticipated. She added, “Yeah, then we went to Paris for a week and we did this process called Champ’seed. It didn’t feel, it was not an auditioning but I guess in a way, and he just picked the best of the best to kind of help fund our careers essentially.” 

Furthermore, she explained that she never went to any other major academy during her practice period other than Patrick Mouratoglou’s, and she was only there for about 6 to 8 weeks out of the year. But even after idealizing Williams and appreciating her for all her contributions, Gauff has her stand clear in life regarding whether she wants to be a Serena Williams heir or Coco Gauff herself.

Coco Gauff doesn’t want to be known as ‘Serena Williams’ next thing’

Although she has openly talked about following Serena Williams’ path into the tennis world, that doesn’t mean she is not there for herself. Back in 2021, before the French Open, in a press conference, she opened up about her thoughts on the same, and since then she has stayed true to her words, and with proper appreciation to Serena, she has worked on creating a name for herself.

She said, “I understand why people compare us, but I think it’s just important that I want to be known as Coco. I don’t want to be known as Serena Williams’ heir, or Serena Williams’ next thing.” Along with that, she dwelled on how she doesn’t mind the Serena comparisons, but at the same time, she wants to establish her own identity in the sport and hold on to that for years in the future.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Gauff’s story of finding the path leading to tennis? Do let us know in the comment section below.

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