Coco Gauff, who is currently competing in the Madrid Open, opened up about playing for herself, rather than for other people in a cover story for TIME’s TIME100 Leadership Series. And her parents, Candi and Cori Gauff, revealed more about her athletic prowess as a child.
Coco was just five years old when she expressed a desire to play tennis. At the time, Cori and Coco were watching Serena Williams win the Australian Open. He called Serena “the GOAT” and Coco asked what that meant. When he told her it stood for “Greatest of All Time,” Coco responded, “I want to be a GOAT,” Coco said to TIME.
So Cori went out and bought his daughter a pink racquet. Coco dedicated her time hitting tennis balls against her garage with Serena’s impressive game in the back of her mind, Coco shared with TIME.
Her parents have always encouraged their daughter on and off the court—and recently, the 19-year-old tennis star’s father proved this when he leapt to her defense after she got into a disagreement with an umpire during the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships.
After the dispute, which occurred during a Feb. 21 match against Karolína Plíšková, went viral on social media, Coco's dad Corey shared his support for his daughter online.
“So proud of my daughter," he wrote on Instagram, alongside a screen-recorded video of the discussion between Coco and the umpire. "Standing up for yourself and fighting for fairness. You have the strength of your grandmothers, who are 2 of the strongest women we know."
This isn't the first time Coco's been in the spotlight—she's been a big name ever since the athlete, who was just 15 at the time, defeated Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon in 2019. Since then, her star has continued to rise, with Coco ultimately becoming a Grand Slam champion thanks to her win at the 2023 U.S. Open. She's also currently one of the professional tennis players featured in season two of Netflix’s Break Point, a docuseries about the world's top tennis pros.
Naturally, this extra attention on the 19-year-old is making fans curious about Coco's family. Here’s what you need to know about Coco Gauff's parents, Candi and Corey Gauff.
The Gauffs passed down their athletic genes to Coco.
Candi and Corey were impressive athletes in their own right. Candi was on the track and field team at Florida State University (her 1991 heptathlon performance is legendary at the school), and Corey played basketball at Georgia State University.
Corey has shared how he and Candi’s athletic experiences may have helped their daughter. “I think it helps parents when they have played as high as college or even pro,” he previously told The New York Times. “You better understand the process, and so you don’t get too jittery about it. You don’t feel like you’re running out of time, so you are not rushed. You kind of meet your kid where they are at.”
They spotted her athleticism from a young age.
Coco’s parents had a feeling that sports were in her future ever since she was a baby. For instance, at nine months old, she skipped the crawling stage and began walking. Then, at age three, she hopped out of her stroller and ran around a track in an attempt to catch up to her older cousins.
“That was the first inkling of like, ‘This is not normal,’” Candi told TIME.
Candi and Cori Gauff have been married for more than 20 years.
The couple got hitched in 2001. Cori shared a sweet anniversary post on Instagram in 2020 that shows the couple looking super cozy. “You and I already know the value we bring to each other and to our family. I love you, I love us, I love our life together. Happy Anniversary!” she wrote in the caption.
What do Coco Gauff's parents do for a living?
Candi has a background in teaching, and Corey was once a healthcare executive, according to the Sun Sentinel. Candi ended up leaving her job to homeschool Coco, and Corey served as her head coach. (She now has a different coaching team, according to USA Today.)
“They're just really my support system,” Coco told USA Today last year. “They're helping me remember, you know, my clothes and everything, and my dad is still sending me scouting reports for every match. But my mom is more so, you know, just being mom. My dad just being dad other than the scouting report part.”
When Coco was eight, Corey and Candi moved their family to Delray Beach, Florida to be closer to tennis training. Coco was homeschooled so she free up more time for coaching, per TIME.
Candi and Corey have three children.
Coco isn’t the only Gauff child. She has two younger brothers—Cody and Cameron.
Candi’s mother was an integral part of the civil rights movement in Florida.
Candi’s mother, Yvonne Lee Odom, played a crucial role in ending segregation at public schools in Delray Beach. Yvonne was the first black student to attend an all-white high school.
That inspired Coco to get more involved in activism in June 2020 when sports around the world came to a halt after George Floyd was murdered, per TIME.
“If you are choosing silence, you are choosing the side of the oppressor,” Coco said to a crowd in Delray Beach. “If she can do that with such grace, I can do my part,” Coco told the pub.
Her parents are Coco’s biggest fans.
Candi and Corey have made it clear they’re always there to support their daughter. “They kind of hype me up,” Coco said on CBS This Morning in 2019. “And then sometimes when I feel a little bit tight during a match, I look at them because they just give me fist pumps, so that just shows me that everything’s gonna be okay. They’re definitely my biggest supporters.”
This was especially proven during the Dubai Tennis Championships in February 2024, after Coco had a disagreement with an umpire over a disputed point. The argument came midway through the match, when Coco—who had lost her first set—was up 4-2 against Karolína Plíšková in the second set, per CNN. After Coco hit a first serve—which Karolína hit into the net—chair umpire Pierre Bacchi called the shot out and decided that the point should be replayed. But Coco argued that the serve was actually in and she deserved the point because of the late call, asking to see the tournament supervisor numerous times.
Ultimately, Coco replayed the point and went on to win the match. But her parents were there to back her up every step of the way.
“While being passionate, you remained respectful as you articulated your argument," her father Corey wrote on Instagram. "The scene is so familiar to women and women of color pleading and fighting to be treated fairly and respectfully by their male counterparts. You are an incredible example to women and your generation on what it means to fight and despite not getting the outcome you wanted you stood up for yourself and successfully moved on. You are becoming the young woman I prayed for, God Bless you."
Candi voiced her support as well, adding, “Very proud.”
Coco responded sweetly in the comments, writing, “aw thank you dad I love you so much! thanks for being the best father. I would have never become the person i am without you.”
On that same trip to Dubai, Coco joked around with her mom online, captioning a Feb. 16 Instagram post, "more desert pics because my mom didn’t send me the good ones in time for yesterday’s post. ok bye!”
While she's playing, when Coco makes a mistake, she’ll look for her dad, as she feels comfortable sharing her frustration with him. “Sometimes he has to take a lot of bullets,” she tells TIME.
Corey is pretty passionate during Coco’s matches, too. “My dad, he doesn’t give the best reaction in the box,” she told TIME. So after losing in Wimbledon in 2023, she had her dad sit in a different spot to watch her matches. “He’s a very emotional person,” she explains. “Sometimes when I lose a point, the first thing I look at is the box, and there’s something more reassuring about seeing somebody clapping.”
Plus, Coco's family doesn't just show up for the big moments—they're there for the small ones, too. And that includes losses. Prior to her first round loss at Wimbledon, Coco recalls that she wasn’t in the best headspace and refused to leave her room. Her parents lured her with dinner and a show, per TIME.
Looking forward to watching the Gauffs on the court and in the stands!
Jacqueline Tempera is an award-winning writer and reporter living in New Jersey with her many pets. She is a business owner and a double Scorpio who loves all things astrology and reality television. She is passionate about body diversity and representation, mental health, and the fight to end sexual assault and harassment. To learn more about Jackie, follow her on Instagram @jacktemp or visit her website at jackietempera.com.
![espn's full court press series world premiere](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/caitlin-clark-attends-the-espn-full-court-press-premiere-at-news-photo-1715185602.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.667xh;0,0&resize=360:* "ESPN+'s "Full Court Press" Series World Premiere")
