Coco Gauff pays 'homage' to Venus and Serena Williams with striking new hair transformation

Coco Gauff has paid tribute to Venus and Serena Williams with her new hair transformation. The 20-year-old flaunted her striking new hairstyle in an eye-catching photoshoot.

Gauff was recently in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships, having recorded a 6-4, 7-5 upset to McCartney Kessler in her opening match at the WTA 1000 event. The American has since returned home, putting the loss behind her with an outing to play paintball with friends. The World No. 3 has also taken time to change her hair ahead of her return at the Indian Wells Open.

In collaboration with her sponsor Carol's Daughter, Coco Gauff flaunted her new look, featuring beaded cornrows, and disclosed that it was an "homage" to Venus and Serena Williams. The 20-year-old opened up about looking up to the Williams sisters and their diverse range of hairstyles when she was younger and drawing inspiration from their hairdos.

"Hi, I’m Coco Gauff and I’m on set with Carol’s Daughter. I remember obviously watching Venus and Serena when I was young. This look is kind of an homage to them. They’ve always changed their hair. They had the beads, they had the braids, they had the curls, they had straight, they had everything," she said.

"When I became more aware of what I wanted to do with my hair, I was taking inspiration and taking note of what they were doing with their hair," she added.

Gauff also discussed the difficulty of how Black hairstyles were perceived in the tennis world and shared an inspiring message about giving herself grace when it came to her hair.

"I think, as a Black woman especially in a predominantly white sport, you’re obviously very aware of your hair and how it’s perceived. I remember thinking, 'Is it too Black? Is it too much? Is it too much color?'" she said.

"Even if it looked messy, you just didn’t care because I feel like the same grace isn’t given to us as to others so you should just give yourself that grace and force people to give you that grace as well," she added.

Coco Gauff showed off her new look in a striking photoshoot.

Coco Gauff's Instagram stories

"Having role models like Serena Williams and Venus Williams to look up to made a difference" - Coco Gauff on being a Black tennis player

Coco Gauff - Source: Getty

Coco Gauff has previously disclosed how important it was to have Venus and Serena Williams as her role models when she was trying to make her place in tennis.

In a clip for Baker Tilly US last year, the World No. 3 also opened up about being a Black player in a "predominantly white" sport, admitting that nobody in her community had cared about her tennis success when she was younger.

"Finding myself was difficult. Being Black in tennis is, sometimes you do stick out like a sore thumb. Like in the Black community, tennis is not a huge thing. Nobody really knew anything about it. I had mentioned that I play tennis but nobody cared," she said.

"But I feel like for me, having role models like Serena and Venus to look up to made a difference. Honestly I just remember watching Venus at US Open. My dad got second row tickets and we were so close and that was a cool thing," she added.

On the tennis front, Coco Gauff will be in action at the Indian Wells Open next, which is set to commence on March 5.