Coco Gauff recently shared a distressing incident from her junior days involving racial discrimination.
Gauff, known for her talent on the tennis circuit, made a breakthrough at a young age. In 2019, she made waves by qualifying for the Wimbledon main draw at just 15 years old.
She even defeated her childhood idol, Venus Williams, in the first round, before reaching the tournament’s second week where she eventually fell to Simona Halep in the fourth round.
Gauff has since been driven by a hunger for success. Last year, she made a significant impact by winning three titles within two months, culminating in her first Grand Slam victory at the US Open.
Gauff’s journey to stardom had its challenges. For example, she had to train on public tennis courts while her parents worked day jobs.
At the age of 12, Gauff experienced a traumatic incident during a junior tournament in France. She recalled how a group of Croatian boys threw orange peels at her and made racial slurs, which deeply affected her.
In an interview with TIME Magazine, Gauff shared how the incident caused her distress initially but she chose not to let it define her. She recognized it as an unfortunate experience and moved forward.
“Then I just kind of got over it the next day. I just felt like that’s just something that people experience, which is not a great thing. They just probably didn’t grow up around other people that looked different. I don’t have any anger towards it. It was not an experience that defined me.”
