'Serena and Venus Williams inspire me, I modeled my game after them,' said Cori Gauff

At 17, Cori Gauff is still the youngest player in the top-300, leaving her coevals and many older players miles behind and standing on the verge of the top-30.

Cori made her professional debut in 2018, mixing incredible junior results with the first pro events and cracking the top-700. Turning 15 in 2019, Cori qualified for the Wimbledon main draw and stunned Venus Williams in the first round, showing her full potential and stealing the tennis news headlines. The youngster advanced into the US Open third round and claimed the first WTA crown at the end of the year in Linz, becoming one of the youngest WTA champions in history.

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Still at 15, Gauff scored three victories at the Australian Open 2020, dethroning Naomi Osaka and gaining more positions on the WTA ranking list. After a slow start of the new season, Cori reached the Adelaide semi-final as a qualifier and played in the quarter-final in Dubai, moving closer to the top-30 and hoping to get there on clay.

Speaking about Serena and Venus Williams, Gauff honored two compatriots for everything they have achieved on and off the court, saying there were an inspiration for many to start playing tennis, including herself.

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"What drew me to them was how they play. And just seeing someone coming from where they came from make it big on tour is inspiring for my dad to get me to start playing. I kind of modeled parts of my game after both of them. What they've done for the game and fighting for equality and all that is super inspiring. And that's also why I always look up to them," Cori Gauff said.