As if tennis greats Coco Gauff and Serena Williams needed to find more similarities between them in addition to being Grand Slam winners, as it turns out—the two stellar athletes have more of a connection than originally thought.
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In a newly resurfaced interview with ESPN, she revealed that she actually met Williams in her younger years as well—and portrayed her in a commercial. Gauff told the outlet that she was around nine or 10-years-old when she was cast as the body double for a young Williams for a Delta Airlines commercial.
Though she didn’t yet know how to hit a serve quite like the tennis great, Gauff explained that she hit as hard as she could and ended up getting the spot and subsequently and unknowingly began their working relationship.
Reflecting on that time period, Gauff shared:
“I stopped by her trailer, took a picture. She probably doesn’t even know. My mom actually sent me a picture a couple weeks ago of me waiting, getting my hair done by the people. I don’t think they ever used it, but that was the first check I ever got as a kid. She doesn’t know this, but the first money I ever made for myself was because of her doing a commercial.”
Gauff also shared what she’s learned from her friendship with Williams and the major life lesson she gleaned.
“Sometimes being a woman, a Black woman in the world, you kind of settle for less. I feel like Serena taught me that, from watching her, she never settled for less,” Gauff explained.
“I can’t remember a moment in her career or life that she settled for less. I think that’s something I took from her. As a person, I’m growing into being an adult and learning how to handle things now with the media and tennis and everything. I’m trying to learn to not settle for less.”
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