Imagine playing a sport that you love and winning a professional championship at only 19! Coco Gauff can certainly imagine that. Gauff is an American professional tennis player. According to Britannica, when Gauff was just seven years old she held her first tennis racket, dreaming of success. She started training with a pro coach at a young age. In her teenage years, Gauff joined a French academy that Serena Williams, one of the best American tennis players of all time, along with her sister Venus Williams, attended. According to Britannia, Serena has won 23 Grand Slam titles in her career. Gauff made tennis her life, practicing 2 hours every day for a whole week. Gauff’s role model growing up was Venus Williams. According to WTA Tennis Venus has won 7 Grand Slam titles and was ranked No. 1 in the world for singles and doubles. In the beginning of Gauff’s professional career, she played against Venus in the Wimbledon Championships, beating her at the young age of 15. 

At this year’s U.S. Open Gauff made history. Coco Guaff, at the age of 19, won her first Grand Slam title on Saturday, September 9, 2023. She became one of the youngest players to win the U.S. Open since Serena Williams in 1999. According to NPR, she lost her first match against Aryna Sabalenka. However, she made a comeback by winning the next two rounds, 6-3 and 6-2, respectively. She fell to the floor and celebrated with her family and FaceTimed her other relatives right on the courts. Coco Gauff will continue to make history, as she has a long career ahead of her.