Teen tennis sensation Coco Gauff is headed to the 2021 U.S. Olympics.
Her overjoyed father, Corey Gauff, shared a heartwarming message about his 17-year-old daughter on his personal Facebook page, where he posted a photo of the humble tennis star.
“So proud of my daughter,” he wrote. “She is an example of setting your goals as high as possible. She told me 18 months ago she wanted to go to the Olympics I said ‘ well I will try to get us some tickets ( lol) ‘ she said, ‘no I want to play.'”
He then explained how Coco had to earn one of four coveted spots. Two of those were a lock, with Sofia Kenin and Serena Williams almost guaranteed. Both Kenin and Williams qualified for the Olympics in the spring, but both players chose not to play, clearing the path for younger players, including young Gauff.
“Well she went to work we put together a plan and she chopped a lot of wood and now she is an Olympian!!!!” posted Corey Gauff.
“Dreams do come true!!!!” he added.
Coco Gauff is currently ranked the No. 23 tennis player in the world.
The teen sensation went viral in 2019 after she and rival Naomi Osaka did a post-match interview together. After losing to Osaka, Gauff didn’t want to do an on-court interview, but she was persuaded. “I said no because I knew I was going to cry the whole time, but she encouraged me to do it,” Gauff told Mary Joe Fernandez on the court of her opponent. “She was amazing, I’m going to learn a lot from this match.”
“She’s been so sweet to me, so thank you for this,” she said, addressing Osaka.
“I don’t want people to think that I’m trying to take this moment away from her because she really deserves it. So thank you,” Gauff added, as the two embraced.
Ironically, Osaka has sat out two major tournaments due to the mental pressures of dealing with the media. She is expected to play in the U.S. Olympics later this month representing the host country, Japan.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s “Dear Culture” podcast? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today!