Coco Gauff isn't her real name and US Open tennis star trained with Mike Tyson before making final
Coco Gauff is through to the final of the US Open after beating Karolina Muchova
REUTERS
Coco Gauff is a tennis player currently in the spotlight.
The 19-year-old has been outstanding at the US Open so far and, on Friday morning, booked her place in the final with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Karolna Muchova.
Given her young age, Gauff is still relatively new to the tour. In the next 48 hours, however, she could etch her name into tennis history with a Grand Slam triumph.
However, there are some things everybody might not necessarily be aware of when it comes to the youngster.
US Open star Coco Gauff has been in outstanding form at the tournament so far
REUTERS
Firstly, 'Coco' isn't actually her real name.
Instead she was born Cori - having been named after her father, who is called Corey.
Explaining why she's known as Coco, Gauff previously told Sports Illustrated: “So my dad’s name is also Corey and my parents always wanted their first child to be named Corey or Cori.
“Actually, no, I take that back!
"My mom wanted her first child to be named that but my dad said if I were a boy, he wouldn’t have named me Corey because he didn’t want a junior.
“My nickname came about because we both can’t be named Corey/Cori, that’d be confusing.
“I believe it was my aunt who said, ‘Oh, we should just call her Coco.’ When my dad was growing up, people used to call him Co and I guess they just said, ‘Oh, Coco’s a cool nickname.’
“Ever since then, I’ve been going by Coco. For sure more people used Coco than Cori.”
Gauff has been shaped into a tennis star by her parents. Her father played basketball at Georgia State University, while her mother Candi was a track and field athlete at Florida State University.
But boxing icon Mike Tyson has been another key person in her rise to prominence.
Speaking back in January, Gauff revealed she'd trained with Tyson to help boost her chances of winning a major tournament.
"To help me follow in Emma [Raducanu's] footsteps and win a Slam, I added a new activity into my pre-season training - boxing," she wrote for the BBC.
"My fitness trainer wanted me to box to help improve balance and so I went down to a gym near where I live in Florida.
"I'm not a fighter - even though I have trained in the past with Mike Tyson.
"If someone came up and punched me I would be out first punch!
"The pre-season training was in a proper gym where there were professional fighters training and whenever they would come to watch I was talking really loud - like, 'yeah my tennis tournament' - so they knew I wasn't a fighter.
"I didn't want them to think this girl is trash and is going to get whooped! I wanted them to know this is not what I do."
Gauff has dropped just one set her on her way to the final of the US Open.
That was in the round of 16 when her match with Wang Xinyu went the distance.
And Gauff will now lock horns with second seed Aryna Sabalenka with a place among the tennis gods on the line.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
US Open star Coco Gauff has trained with Mike Tyson
REUTERS
Sabalenka booked her own place in the final with a stirring 0-6, 7-6, 7-6 win over Madison Keys.
Her victory was made all the more impressive given Keys had the overwhelming support of the home crowd.
You may like
