Coco Gauff gives full credit to dad Corey for inspiring her to get into business world

Coco Gauff recently opened up about her post-tennis career aspirations. The American icon also spoke brightly of her foundation while attributing her will to bring change in the world to her father, Corey.

At 21, Gauff has already established herself as one of the best players in women's tennis. She picked up her maiden Major title at the 2023 US Open and has only gone from strength to strength since then, reaching a career-high ranking of World No. 2 in June 2024 and winning last year's WTA Finals in scintillating fashion.

Coco Gauff is competing at the Italian Open this week and will be eager to match her career-best result of reaching the semifinals of the tournament. The fourth seed recently spoke to the National about her pursuits outside tennis, which included her foray into charity and entrepreneurship.

The 21-year-old disclosed that while her father, Corey, had offered her various great ideas that she could attend to, she ultimately decided to do her own thing.

"It was ultimately up to me if I wanted to do it. My dad has great ideas and I was like, 'You know what? That's pretty cool',” Gauff told the National. "I have other interests outside of tennis. And I want to get on the foundation side and starting the process of building that."

Furthermore, she insisted that there were a lot more avenues through which she was looking to express herself in the near future.

"And it's just a lot of things that I want to be able to do off court when my career is over," she added. "But I think I just want to start the process now so that when my career is over, it's not so much of a starting from the beginning type situation."

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Coco Gauff gave $100,000 donation to United Negro College Fund (UNCF) earlier this year

Coco Gauff is serving aces on and off the court these days | Image Source: Getty

In February, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) received backing from Coco Gauff. The American gave the non-profit organization about $100,000 to help facilitate scholarships for budding tennis players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or colloquially known as HBCUs, across the country.

"My family has a deep-rooted history with HBCUs, going all the way back to my great, great grandfather. From aunts and uncles to cousins, HBCUs have played a huge role in shaping who we are," Gauff told UNCF earlier this year. "Supporting UNCF in creating opportunities for student-athletes in tennis means a lot to me."

"As a young Black athlete, I understand how impactful it is to see people who look like me thriving in both sports and education," she added.

Apart from her charity work, Gauff has also started "Coco Gauff Enterprises" earlier this month in partnership with talent agency WME.