“Coaching Serena Williams at the Time & She Was My Idol”: Coco Gauff Admits Sole Reason She Left Florida

Coco Gauff continued her brilliant form as she made it to the Australian Open semi-final. The American dug deep to defeat a resilient Marta Kostyuk to win in three sets. The 19-year-old won the match 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 to reach her first ever Australian Open semi-final. However, it was Gauff’s post match comments about Serena Williams that stole the show.

During her post match interview, Coco Gauff talked openly about her love for Williams and how she tried to follow the path of the 23 time Grand Slam champion. Early on in her career, Gauff moved from her home in Florida to move to Paris to coach under Patrick Mouratoglou.

The French coach was working with Serena Williams at the time and Gauff could not pass up such a big opportunity. The American teenager admitted that Williams was her idol and a chance to work with Mouratoglou was too good to turn down.

“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. Then went to Paris for a week and we did this process called Champ’seed. There’s a couple other players that came out of that. Off the top of my head, Holger Rune was one of them.”

Gauff travelled to Paris in all expense paid trip to coach under Mouratoglou. The American admitted that this was the first ever time she had left USA to travel anywhere. Also, Gauff feels that she would never had red clay experience if she didn’t attend Champ’seed in Paris.

Coco Gauff talks about her early life in tennis

Coco Gauff has admitted that she liked to stay close to her family in her early days in tennis. The American superstar further added that her trip to Paris to train with Patrick Mouratoglou was her only big trip during her early days. Gauff trained at the Sly Black Tennis Academy with her childhood coach in the initial days. Later, Gauff went to Gerard Loglo Tennis Academy, which was another small academy in Florida.

Coco Gauff further added that she was happy to stay with her family in Florida and her parents did not want to disrupt her life. Now, a few years down the line, the American feels that it was the best decision for her future and has no regrets. Now, with another Grand Slam semi-final spot secured, the 19-year-old will be aiming for her first title at the Australian Open.