Coco Gauff Shares Touching Message for Her ‘Idol’ Serena Williams

Coco Gauff is ready for the Paris Olympics. Despite her impressive career, this is her first time competing at the prestigious and historic event. Although she qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Gauff had to sit out due to a COVID-19 infection. In a new letter, Gauff addresses her 17-year-old self and shares her accomplishments over the past four years, including the friendship she’s developed with her idol, Serena Williams.

The letter was shared on the Paris Olympics website and shows Gauff talking to her older self about some of the things she is most proud of today. “Although tennis is an individual sport, you value the relationships with your teammates,” the letter reads.

“You have been fortunate that your relationships on the field have turned into friendships off the field. One of those notable friendships is the one you have with your idol, Serena Williams. Serena was once just a stranger printed on a poster hanging in your room, and now you still can’t believe she’s a friend and mentor,” she wrote.

Gauff says her admiration for Williams is so great that she considers her one of her inspirations for her Olympic debut. “Her profound impact on the game of tennis, what it means to be a champion and breaking barriers is a legacy you hope to uphold and take with you to your first Olympics,” she wrote.

Gauff’s dream of becoming an Olympic athlete comes true

In her letter, Gauff revealed that she had long wanted to compete in the Olympics and simply wanted to enjoy the moment she had sought for much of her life. “In your phone, under your vision notes, you wrote that you wanted to win a medal at the Olympics. Gold, silver, bronze, whatever,” she wrote. “But you have already won, you have made your childhood dream of competing in the Olympics, of representing the United States, a reality. And now, finally, you can enjoy it.”

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games begin on Friday July 26.