Coco Gauff, who defeated Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday, received a warm congratulatory post from tennis legend– Venus Williams. According to Today, Williams dropped a quick celebratory message for the 19-year-old tennis sensation in the comments under a YouTube interview with the program’s co-anchors, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.
Venus commented, “Congrats, Coco <3.”
“It’s so crazy, I don’t think I’ve gotten to digest. Even last night, I was telling myself, ‘You’re a Grand Slam champion
,'” Gauff said. “It doesn’t feel real at all. I was just saying, ‘Thank you,’ and ‘I understood all the tough times were just to make that moment even sweeter. I think if it came easy…I wouldn’t feel as appreciative as I did in that moment, clearly.”The teen champ’s history with Venus dates back to 2019 when the tennis star defeated the senior player at Wimbledon and became the youngest player to qualify for the main draw.
As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Gauff candidly spoke about being compared to another tennis legend, Serena Williams, since becoming the first teenager to reach the final four, a goal accomplished by the mother of two over 2″ years ago.
“Serena. She’s Serena. She’s the GOAT,” she said in an interview with ESPN. “I’d hope to do half of what I’m did. But I’m not going to compare my style to her to her. She’s someone that “I look up to.”
Gauff said she is proud to be a part of Serena’s legacy.
“Being in the same stat line as her means”a lot to me.”
“She’s my idol, and I think they’ll regret I’ll have for the rest of my life is not being able to play her. There were so many tournaments where if we won and didn’t, I would’ve played her.”
Gauff defeated Sabalenka 6-2 in the final set at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York City.