US Open reigning champion Coco Gauff next eyes the ultimate prize at the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. After winning the 2023 US Open, the 19-year-old American now focuses like a laser beam on the coveted tennis crown — to become world No. 1. On her next stop on the way to the very top, Ms. Gauff will contest the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix scheduled from April 13 to 21, 2024, at Stuttgart’s famed Porsche Arena.
Markus Günthardt, Tournament Director of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, voices his pleasure in Ms. Gauff’s participation in the tournament. Mr. Günthardt offers, “First of all, she’s a player I love watching. And secondly, we’ll be hosting all four reigning Grand Slam champions.”
The exclusive quartet of reigning Grand Slam champions participating in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix are…
- Iga Swiatek — French Open 2023
- Marketa Vondrousova — Wimbledon 2023
- Coco Gauff — US Open 2023 and
- Aryna Sabalenka — Australian Open 2024
Additional world-class players in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix field include…
- Porsche Brand Ambassador Angelique Kerber
- Porsche Brand Ambassador Emma Raducanu and
- Jelena Ostapenko
Ms. Gauff enthused, “I am excited to kick off the clay court swing in Stuttgart. I have had a lot of success on the clay, and I think Stuttgart provides the perfect week with great hospitality to start the European season,” says Coco Gauff. “The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is still a tournament I can improve on and I am up for the challenge!”
Start of the Coco Gauff March to Earning Tennis World No. 1
On her journey to the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, some of Coco’s stepping stones along the way to pursuing tennis no. 1 include…
- Winning start to the 2024 season, successfully defending her title in Auckland
- Reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open
- ultimately yielding to winner Aryna Sabalenka
- but setting the record for the fastest serve — 125 mph (201 km/h)
Coco Gauff Biography
Cori Dionne “Coco” Gauff was born in Delray Beach, Florida, on March 13, 2004, to her proud parents, who were both successful athletes in their own right. Father Corey Gauff played basketball at Georgia State. Mother Candi Gauff was a track and field athlete and artistic gymnast at Florida State University.
Coco Gauff Singles Tennis Championship Milestones
Superstar tennis sisters Serena Williams and Venus Williams were early powerful inspirations for Ms. Gauff. In fact, she was only six-years-old when, for the very first time, champing at the bit, she took to a tennis court to begin her journey.
After training very hard since then, Ms. Gauff first competed in the 2017 US Open juniors — at only 13 years old — becoming the youngest finalist in tournament history. Amazingly, just one year later, Mr. Gauff conquered the French Open. This earned her the Junior World No. 1 title.
Then Ms. Gauff achieved another winning milestone. She won her first WTA title in Linz in 2019. Incredibly, to the day, she was only 15 years and 214 days old. Before her, the youngest winner on the WTA Tour was Nicole Vaidisova, who won in Tashkent in 2004. That drought lasted for an entire 15 years before Ms. Gauff reaped this achievement.
Next she set another record at the French Open. She achieved her first Grand Slam Final, against Iga Swiatek. Once again, before her, the youngest winner to achieve this was current Porsche Ambassador Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon, again in 2004.
But Ms. Gauff’s latest and greatest achievements occurred in rapid succession in the 2023 season. Under the tutelage of former world class player Brad Gilbert, she racked up win and win after win in Auckland, Cincinnati, Washington D.C. and Queens, New York at the US Open. Thus she broke into Top 10 for the first time on September 12, 2022. Weighing in at 121 lbs. within a height of 5 ft. nine ins., she is the current world No. 3, having accumulated seven singles titles.
Coco Gauff Doubles Tennis Championship Milestones
Ms. Gauff’s successes in doubles are even more outstanding. She has garnered an impressive eight tournament victories, among them…
- First doubles Grand Slam final with fellow American Caty McNally at the 2021 US Open
- Doubles final with fellow American Jessica Pegula at the 2022 French Open
- 2023 WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Miami with Jessica Pegula
- At the head of doubles rankings in September 2023
Other Coco Gauff Highlights
Season Kickoff
She kicked off her winning season garnering the top title at the ASB Classic. Unfortunately, she fell just shy in some other tournaments during the season. She did, in any case, make an impressive semi-final appearance in the Australian Open.
Indian Wells Open
Ms. Gauff is scheduled to contest the BNP Paribas 2024 Indian Wells Open on March 9, 2024, in Indian Wells, California. Her goal is to become the first American woman to clinch the singles tournament win since Serena Williams achieved this in 2001.
Vogue Magazine Cover and Cover Story
Coco appears on the cover of Vogue magazine’s April 2024 issue. The photo shoot was orchestrated by none other than famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. Ms. Gauff is also the subject of the top Vogue cover story inside the magazine as profiled by Abby Aguirre.
Mystery Boyfriend
Finally, on a less-serious note, there’s been some hubbub and gossip of late surrounding Ms. Gauff’s “mystery boyfriend.” Up to this point, she has been very discreet about her private romantic life since ascending to status of global sports icon. Hence the rumors about her mystery boyfriend.
In the aforementioned Vogue piece, she played down the rumors that she’s dating American tennis protégé Ben Shelton. She intimated to Vogue that “He’s a very nice guy. He’s in school now. He’s about to apply for music school. He wants to be an actor and he plays the guitar.
“I won’t respond and confirm if it’s him or not, but they caught me in the comments, so they know. Some people thought it was someone in tennis and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
We report, you decide, to borrow a turn of phrase…
Previous Appearances in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Coco Gauff appeared to contest matches in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix previously in both 2022 and 2023. Her personal best in Stuttgart occurred during her first appearance. She excelled in doubles with Chinese tennis star Shuai Zhang.
So now her eyes are on the top prize of not only the ultimate singles title — but also the top prize of the Porsche sports car that comes paired with the singles title.