Updated 14 June 2025 at 11:04 IST
'For Me to Have Even 5% of That...' - French Open 2025 Winner Coco Gauff on Comparisons with Idol Serena Williams
Coco Gauff has admitted to idolising tennis great Serena Williams and recently opened up on how it felt being compared to the 23-time Grand Slam winner.
Advertisement
United States' Coco Gauff holds the tropy after winning the final match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in Paris | Image:
AP
When Coco Gauff won her first-ever Grand Slam title by clinching the US Open in 2023, she became the first American teenager since Serena Williams to lift her home tennis Slam. And when she won the French Open 2025 final and claimed her second Slam, Gauff became the first American since Serena to win at Roland Garros. And given Gauff is an African-American athlete, the comparisons to Serena and Venus Williams were always going to be there.
And while it is safe to say that Gauff is currently miles away from being in the same league as the woman she sees as an idol, there is also no denying the fact that Gauff is enjoying the comparisons.
She has only won two Grand Slams compared to Serena's 23, but according to the youngster from Florida she is happy just being a part of the conversation.
ALSO READ | 'Roland Garros, Do Better!' - Fans Shocked at Size of Coco Gauff's French Open 2025 Trophy
Coco Gauff Flattered by Comparisons
Gauff said that having even 5% of the accomplishments that Williams has to her name means a lot.
"She's the reason I picked up the racket and the sport, and have the belief that I do. And for me, to be able to be in any conversation with her, obviously she has her own legacy that will never be touched, but for me just to even have like a 5% of that, means so much to me and dreaming big and watching her compete in real life," she said on the talk show Good Morning America.
Gauff added that she was happy to break a 10-year winless streak for Americans in the French Open, as Williams' last triumph at Roland Garros came in 2015 - and that it meant a lot to her.
What Next For Coco Gauff?
The next goal for the 21-year-old would be to add the Wimbledon title to her burgeoning trophy cabinet. Wimbledon 2025 gets underway from June 30 and it is fair to say that Gauff would be one of the favourites.
Her best showings at the All England Lawn Tennis grounds has been making it to the fourth round - a feat she managed in 2019, 2021 and 2024.
But given the confidence and momentum she has from winning the French Open, she would back herself to be up in the mix for winning the championship.
Published 14 June 2025 at 11:04 IST