In July 2019, Coco Gauff surprised the world when, at 15, she defeated Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon. Williams is a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, and Gauff managed to replicate this success at the Australian Open in January 2020.
By July 2021, Gauff and Williams teamed up as doubles partners, albeit losing in the first round of Roland-Garros. Despite being close to her childhood idols, Venus and Serena Williams, Gauff’s admiration remains unchanged. Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, recently returned to professional tennis. This gave Gauff a chance to express her feelings about the Williams sisters. At her first Wimbledon press conference, Gauff shared, “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.”
Serena and Venus Williams will compete in doubles together at Wimbledon this week for the first time since the 2022 US Open. They are set to face Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra in the first round on Thursday, July 2. The duo has won six doubles Wimbledon titles together.
Before the doubles match, Serena Williams will return for her first singles match since the 2022 US Open. She will face Maya Joint on Tuesday, June 30, seeking to add to her seven Wimbledon singles titles.
Gauff has yet to compete against Serena Williams, but there might be a chance if Williams continues to play after Wimbledon. Serena expressed her interest in teaming up with Gauff, stating after a match at the Berlin Tennis Open, “I would really love to play with Coco. She’s on my list of players I would love to play with. I love watching Coco as well.”
Currently ranked No. 7 in singles, Gauff is striving for her first Wimbledon title. She will commence with a first-round match against No. 78 Tamara Korpatsch on Monday, June 29.