Coco Gauff

Cori Dionne Gauff was born on March 13, 2004, in Delray Beach, Florida. She was named after her father, Corey. She told Sports Illustrated Kids in an interview that, to avoid confusion with their similar names, her aunt suggested calling her Coco, a play on one of her father’s old nicknames. Gauff has two younger brothers, Cameron and Cody.Athleticism runs in the family. Corey played Division I basketball at Georgia State University. Her mother, Candi, was a gymnast who also participated in Division I track and field at Florida State University. Because Gauff’s parents were athletes, they wanted their firstborn to pursue a sport. So, Gauff began playing tennis at the age of 6.Gauff spent her early years in Georgia. Her mother was a teacher, while her father was a pharmaceuticals executive. To support Gauff’s tennis training and career, her parents opted to leave their jobs and move back to Delray Beach. Candi began to homeschool her daughter while Corey became her coach.Early Tennis Career.By the time she was 10, Gauff had traveled to France to work with Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Serena Williams. She continued to train with Mouratoglou, but her father was her main coach.Corey has said of Gauff’s development, “Be a well-rounded athlete, learn other sports—that’s one thing we emphasized with Coco early on; she was in gymnastics, soccer, basketball, and she ran track. We wanted her to develop as a total athlete.”Gauff won the United States Tennis Association Clay Court National 12-under title in 2014. In 2017, she took second place at the U.S. Open Girls Junior Championships. The next year she became the junior champion at the French Open.

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