Coco Gauff lists favorite career moments, including meeting Michelle Obama and her spectacular 2019 Wimbledon run
WTA
American tennis star Coco Gauff, one of the most exciting rising stars in tennis, has chosen her career's top moments so far. She chose her run at her maiden Grand Slam appearance (2019 Wimbledon) and meetings with Michelle Obama and J. Cole as her two top moments.
The 18-year-old turned pro in 2018 and caught the attention of the tennis world at the 2019 Wimbledon when she was just 15. In the opening round, Gauff defeated her idol and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in straight sets. She entered the main draw as a qualifier and reached the fourth round before losing to eventual winner Simona Halep.
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In a recent conversation with Her Way magazine, Gauff was asked to mention on and off-court moments that she couldn't believe happened to her. Apart from the 2019 Wimbledon, she named her meetings with J. Cole (American rapper) and Michelle Obama, who served as the first lady of the US from 2009 to 2017.
"I think the biggest thing I couldn't believe happened to me, there's a couple, I would say meeting J Cole," Gauff said. He's one of my favorite rappers, probably my favorite rapper.
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"Meeting the former first lady Michelle Obama, that was insane. And then like on the court, definitely the whole Wimbledon run. It's one of those things that I know happened in real life but it feels like a dream. So yeah, I would say those are the top three things for me."
Michelle Obama has been an admirer of the young tennis player for a long time. The former first lady congratulated Gauff on completing high school graduation last year before the French Open kicked off in May. Obama also complimented her for reaching the finals in Paris. Their first meeting happened during the 2019 Citi Open.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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