Coco Gauff's mother Candi finds inspiration in angel wing mural as daughter gears up for US Open title defense

Coco Gauff's mother Candi recently shared a photo of herself posing in front of an Angel wing mural. The picture taken at the Dreams Tulum Resort and Spa in Mexico comes just ahead of her daughter’s 2024 US Open campaign.

Candi Gauff, a former track and field star at Florida State University, and her husband Corey, a former basketball player at Georgia State University, have been a pillar of support for their daughter through her meteoric rise in the tennis world. They gave up their careers to help Coco pursue her tennis dreams.

This image was shared on social media during Candi Gauff's stay in Mexico. The mural has these words etched on it: "Only someone who dreams can truly fly."

You can see the photo Candi Gauff posted below:

Candi Gauff pictured posing in front of a mural in Mexico (Source: instagram.com/candigauff/)

Coco Gauff's parents' dedication to and belief in their daughter’s potential have been instrumental in shaping her career, which includes being the youngest player to win the 2023 Mubadala Citi DC Open and a few months later a Grand Slam winner at the US Open at just 19 years of age.

Gauff will be looking to defend her US Open title at Flushing Meadows, which starts on Monday 26 August.

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Coco Gauff will take on Varvara Gracheva in the US Open 1R

Coco Gauff at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris (Source: Getty Images)

Coco Gauff will face Russian-French tennis player Varvara Gracheva in the first round at the US Open on August 26.

Gauff has a remarkable story at the US Open. In 2023, the then-19-year-old made history by winning her first Grand Slam title at the US Open, becoming the first American teenager to do so since Serena Williams in 1999.

The American defeated World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s singles final 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. However, Gauff’s performance since the 2024 French Open has been less than stellar, and she enters the 2024 US Open in somewhat of a slump.

Gracheva, meanwhile, recorded her best performance at the New York Major in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, she cruised past Paula Badosa and Kristina Mladenovic to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. However, the 24-year-old couldn't sustain her momentum, losing 3-6, 3-6 to eighth seed Petra Martic in the third round.

The following year, Gracheva matched her previous year's performance by again reaching the third round, where she lost 1-6, 4-6 to the 14th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Gauff and Gracheva have faced each other once before, in the quarterfinals of the ASB Classic in January 2024. Gauff emerged victorious in that encounter, defeating Gracheva 6-1, 6-1.

This gives Gauff a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head record. The top-seeded American also went on to defeat second-seed Elina Svitolina 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3 in the final to clinch her seventh and most recent WTA singles title.