"Don’t think I'd have belief if it wasn’t for them”: When Coco Gauff credited Venus & Serena Williams for inspiring her in 'predominantly white' sport

Coco Gauff has never hesitated to credit Serena Williams and Venus Williams for inspiring her. She once said that the iconic sisters helped open doors and made it easier for someone like her, a person of color, to succeed in a sport that has traditionally been dominated by white players.

Growing up in Compton without access to fancy clubs or top-tier coaching, Serena and Venus had anything but an easy path. Trained by their father, they often played on courts where they weren’t fully welcomed. People doubted them, picked apart their hair, their outfits, even their confidence, but they kept showing up, and more importantly, kept winning.

Their success inspired a whole generation of Black players, including stars such as Sloane Stephens, Frances Tiafoe, and, of course, Gauff. In a 2024 interview with TIME, the 21-year-old said:

“As a little girl, it was very important to see representation and see myself in players, especially in the field where it is predominantly white. I don’t think I would have had the belief I could do it if it wasn’t for them.”

The Williams sisters have won a combined 30 Grand Slam singles titles, Serena with 23 and Venus with seven. As a doubles team, they were one of the best the sport has ever seen, claiming 14 Majors and three Olympic gold medals, along with plenty of other milestones.

Coco Gauff credits Serena Williams as the reason she started playing tennis after 2nd Grand Slam win at French Open

Serena Williams and Coco Gauff in one frame | Image Source: Getty

Coco Gauff had an incredible run at the 2025 French Open, where she won her second Grand Slam by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Coincidentally, her first Major win also came against Sabalenka at the 2023 US Open.

With that win, Gauff became the youngest American woman to win the title since Serena Williams in 2002, and the first to do so since Serena's last French Open victory in 2015. In an interview with NBC afterward, she couldn’t stop gushing about how the 23-time Grand Slam champion is the reason she picked up a tennis racket in the first place.

"It means a lot,” Coco Gauff said. “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… I don’t know,” she added.

Gauff continued:

“It’s just crazy to say that 10 years later, I’m here with that trophy after she held it, so it means a lot and to finally put Americans back in that French Open conversation.”

Venus Williams showed a lot of confidence in Coco Gauff, backing her to win Roland Garros this year, and that’s exactly what happened.