Coco Gauff Reflects on Playing Against Tennis Legends at Wimbledon

In July 2019, Coco Gauff emerged as a formidable force in tennis by defeating Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, during the first round of Wimbledon. As a 15-year-old, Gauff caught global attention with this unexpected victory. Following this, Gauff repeated her success against Williams at the Australian Open in January 2020.

By July 2021, Gauff had the chance to partner with Williams in doubles at Roland-Garros, but their journey ended in the first round. Despite being close to her childhood idols, Venus and Serena Williams, Gauff’s admiration for them remains strong.

Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, has returned to professional tennis after a break of nearly four years. Gauff expressed her continued admiration during her first Wimbledon press conference. She stated, “I played the sport because of them, believed that I could do things because of them, and I still look up to them a lot. Even when I play them, I’m still admiring. I think that’s the only time that’s happened to me in this sport.”

After the 2022 US Open, Serena and Venus Williams will compete in doubles at Wimbledon this week. Their first match will be against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra on Thursday, July 2. The sisters have won six doubles titles at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams is set to play her first singles match since the 2022 US Open against Maya Joint, age 20, on Tuesday, June 30. With seven Wimbledon singles titles under her belt, Williams returns to the court with high expectations.

Gauff has never faced Serena in singles, although there might be an opportunity if Williams continues competing beyond Wimbledon. Recently, Williams expressed her interest in playing doubles with Gauff. “I would really love to play with Coco,” Williams mentioned after participating in the Berlin Tennis Open with Karolina Muchova. Williams admired Gauff’s focus on singles and regretted not asking her to pair up.

Currently ranked No. 7 in singles, Gauff is striving for her first Wimbledon title. She will begin her tournament with a match against No. 78 Tamara Korpatsch on Monday, June 29.