Her father, Corey, for whom she is named, was an elusive point guard at Georgia State University.

Great tennis players are usually blessed with exceptional genes, and Gauff is no exception. 'I want to be,' Gauff says emphatically, 'the greatest of all time.'Ī swift rise Cori Gauff joined the likes of Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Jennifer Capriati as Orange Bowl champions. 'Um.' begins Gauff when the question is posed.Īnd, just when you're expecting the typical, best-I-can-be kind of answer juniors are ruthlessly coached to give, she drops the hammer. 'I think she can be as good as she wants to be,' said Martin Blackman, the USTA's general manager of player development. The United States Tennis Association, not surprisingly, has taken a keen interest in her sharply angled trajectory.

She has already represented America in international age-group competition, in Montreal. At the Orange Bowl, Gauff wore a striking salmon-colored ensemble bearing the familiar swoosh logo of a certain apparel company based in Oregon. Certainly, some tantalizing opportunities have already presented themselves.Ĭoco has already met her idol, Serena Williams - three times - and trained with Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, in France. Between them, they went on to win 34 Grand Slam singles titles.Įven though the odds are heavily against Gauff, and despite the historic difficulty of predicting professional viability for juniors, this is the kind of soaring success that Gauff and her team aspire to. 20, Gauff collected her first Junior Orange Bowl title, winning all seven matches in straight sets.įor some context, consider these former 12-under Junior Orange Bowl champions: Steffi Graf (1981), Monica Seles (1985) and Jennifer Capriati (1986).

She has competed credibly in national 18-under events.

Recently, Gauff won her first three girls' 16-under singles matches at the Eddie Herr International Championships, dropping only four games. Beyond Cori 'Coco' Gauff's swift movement and muscular forehands lies her most disarming feature: those fierce, dark brown eyes that capture the blatant intensity in her enormous drive.

Cori gauff sofascore