Coco Gauff is enjoying a brilliant career as a professional tennis player. If there is anybody she should thank for this, it is her parents Candi and Corey Gauff. Her mother, who now works as an educator, was a track and field athlete at Florida State University while her father who worked as a health care executive played college basketball at Georgia State University.
The Delray Beach, Florida natives with NCAA Division I collegiate backgrounds in basketball and track and field encouraged their daughter to play sports and she ended up choosing tennis. She was inspired after watching the legendary Serena Williams on television win the 2009 Australian Open. Coco has since become the youngest player ranked in the top 100 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). Her accomplishments on the court can be credited to the genetics she inherited from her parents. Below is more on them.
Meet Coco Gauff’s Mother Candi Gauff (nee Odom)
- Full Name: Candi Odom Gauff
- Date of Birth: November 30, 1970
- Age: 52 years
- Place of Birth: Delray Beach, Florida
- Ethnicity: African-American
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
- Education: Atlantic high school and Florida State University
- Profession: Former track and field athlete and educator
- Height: 5 feet 9 inches
- Weight: 55kg
- Marital Status: Married
- Children: Coco, Codey, and Cameron Guaff
- Instagram: candigauff
Candi Gauff is the mother of American tennis player Coco Gauff, who won the Linz Open in 2019 at the age of 15 years, making history as the youngest singles title-holder since Maria Sharapova in 2004.
Candi met her husband and the father of her children in Delray Beach, Florida. The pair exchanged marriage vows in Palm Beach, Florida on January 13, 2001. They are the proud parents of three beautiful children; Coco, Codey, and Cameron.
Candi was a Star High School and College Track and Field Athlete
Candi Gauff, formerly known as Candi Dionne Odom, was born and raised in Delray Beach, Florida on November 30, 1970. She was birthed into the union of Yvonne Odom and Eddie Odom. Though she was birthed into a humble family, her parents were hardworking folks who made sure to provide for their daughter’s needs.
Regarding her educational background, Candi Gauff attended Atlantic high school and graduated with good grades. She was the Florida State Champion in hurdler and heptathlon. She won the Sun-Sentinel Track Athlete of the Year award for two consecutive years at Atlantic High School. Besides participating in track and field in high school, she also participated in gymnastics which she referred to as her first love.
After her high school education, she enrolled at Florida State University where she joined the school’s track and field team. She was the school’s star track champion in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She held the state best in the 110 hurdles at 13.90 seconds. Moreover, she was a member of the Eaglette dance troupe for two years, and also participated in football and basketball games.
Candi is a former educator who has given up her professional job to support, train and tutor her daughter. She is currently using her experience as an educator to homeschool her daughter.
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Coco Gauff’s Father Corey Gauff Played Collegiate Basketball
- Full Name: Corey Gauff
- Place of Birth: Delray Beach, Florida, U.S.A
- Ethnicity: African-American
- Nationality: American
- Education: Georgia State University
- Profession: Coach
- Marital Status: Married
- Children: Coco, Codey, and Cameron Gauff
- Instagram: coreygauff
Corey Gauff grew up in Delray Beach, Florida, the U.S.A. where he got married and raised his three children alongside his wife, Candi. Coco Gauff has got the athlete’s bloodline running in her veins. Besides her mother who played track and field while in college, her father was a former basketball player who played collegiate basketball for Georgia State University.
Like most fathers who want their children to follow in their footsteps, Corey wanted his children to play basketball on a professional level but Coco was not great at shooting and she found it hard to play in a team. In an interview with The New York Times, Corey stated:
“I think it helps parents when they have played as high as college or even pro, 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.”
However, his career as a basketball player was only for a short period as he later became a healthcare executive. A dedicated father, Corey Gauff decided to quit his long-time job as a healthcare executive to become a sports coach for his daughter Coco and prepare her for a legendary tennis career.
Inspired by Richard Williams, the father of legendary tennis players, Venus and Serena Williams, Corey followed Richard’s blueprint to train Coco and improve her tennis skills. With no prior experience in the game, he took lessons from a man called Old Whiskey.
Like most relationships, the father-daughter duo also had a rough patch. During an interview with South Florida sun Sentinel, Coco revealed what her relationship with her father was like while growing up. “When I turned, I would say, 12 or 13, we used to argue, because he used to be annoying because he would bring tennis home, and he’s always around me. So now we talked, and we understand each other now more.”
Since the father-daughter duo sorted out their issues, they have been taking the tennis scene by storm. Corey’s advice to his daughter before she won the 2019 Linz Open Title in Austria, remains one of their greatest moments yet.
Corey and his wife Candi have not relented in their support for their daughter. They are always on the sidelines, cheering on their daughter during her games. They have a dream for Coco and they believe she is on her way to achieving that dream. In an interview, Coco said her dream is to be “the greatest” — an idea from her dad. She further stated that her dad told her she could do this when she was eight but she never believed it. Up to this date, Corey remains Coco’s primary tennis coach.
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