Coco Gauff enjoyed a fairytale start to her career in professional tennis, having contended for the sport’s biggest prizes as a teenager.
In her first Grand Slam match at 15 years of age, Gauff beat the legendary Venus Williams en route to the fourth round of the 2019 Wimbledon championships.
Less than three years later, the American advanced to the final of Roland Garros, but was ultimately denied a maiden crown by Iga Swiatek.
In 2023, Gauff won her first Grand Slam title, aged 19, after going all the way at the US Open that year and beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final to hoist the famous trophy.
Not many had expected her to rise to the top of women’s tennis so quickly, but Eugenie Bouchard’s former coach, Nick Saviano, says he knew she was ‘special’ when he met her for the first time.
Nick Saviano discusses meeting Coco Gauff for the first time
In an interview with Florida Tennis, Saviano revealed he was approached by Gauff‘s father, Corey Gauff, years before her debut on the WTA Tour.
The 69-year-old said: “Corey Gauff contacted me about coming out to take a look at his daughter, and I’d heard good things about her.
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“When she came out [to his academy], I knew: ‘Okay, this one’s really special’. She was really good. Very disciplined, very respectful, just a wonderful young girl.
“And I would lavish them [her parents] with praise about her as a character and everything, and her work ethic. And then they’d come out like once a month.
“Not that much, but once a month, and they’d film things, and I’d give Corey my thoughts, and then the next year they would come out more.
“Then, in 2019, Corey came to my office and said I’d like to come out more frequently and help oversee what she’s doing, and we did that for six to eight months up until she did well at Wimbledon. Corey was always the primary coach; I was just assisting, but I really enjoyed that.”
Coco Gauff’s first full year on the WTA Tour
After sporadically appearing at WTA tournaments in 2019 and 2020, Gauff had her first trip around the WTA Tour in 2021.
That season, she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, doing so at Roland Garros, where she ultimately bowed out to Barbora Krejcikova.
She also achieved her first semifinal finish at a WTA 1000 competition when making it to the final four at the Italian Open.
Later on at the US Open, she lost in the second round in singles, but made it to the final in doubles alongside compatriot Caty McNally.
Gauff finished 2021 with an overall singles win-loss record of 36-16, in what marked a big step in her already incredibly successful career.
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