Watch 8-year-old Coco Gauff dancing at US Open she wins at 19 (video)

Gauff’s father Corey, whom she was named after, took her to the US Open 11 years ago, and she danced as she watched her idol Serena Wiliams

Watch 8-year-old Coco Gauff dancing at US Open she wins at 19 (video)

Cori “Coco” Gauff’s ever-present father, Corey Gauff, understood the infinite power that visualization has on the human mind. Therefore, the patriarch took his daughter, who was eight years old at the time, to the U.S. Open to watch Serena Williams win the Grand Slam tournament in New York in 2012.

Eleven years later, Coco Gauff, now 19, manifested that long-ago dream by defeating the world’s No. 1 player Aryna Sabalenka, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. She became the youngest player to win the tournament in Arthur Ashe Stadium since her idol Serena Williams did it at age 17 in 1999.


The entire Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens seemed to explode with thunderous ovation after Gauff sent her last forehand shot past a reaching Sabalenka to complete the momentous victory.

After giving her vanquished opponent the ceremonious hug, Gauff had to go down to her knees, consumed with euphoria and tears of joy before making the long way up the stairs to bear-hug her parents, Corey and Candi Gauff, who helped make her dreams come true.


The media has often made the career correlation between Gauff, who made her pro tennis debut on the WTA Tour by defeating Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019, and what Serena Williams accomplished as a teen at the turn of the century.

Now that Gauff is one of the most prolific teen winners in the history of women’s tennis — she now has four titles in 2023 including the U.S. Open win — she is no longer the adorable phenom. She is no longer arriving. She is here.

In addition to the constellation of stars on hand to witness the dramatic theatrics that Gauff’s come-from-behind victory provided, many took to the platform formerly known as Twitter to celebrate this charismatic tennis star’s seminal accomplishment. This includes former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and University of Connecticut women’s basketball superstar Paige Bueckers.

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