Coco Gauff rang in her final year as a teenager and was flooded with birthday wishes from the tennis world including Naomi Osaka, Paula Badosa and Patrick Mouratoglou.
Coco Gauff turned 19 on March 13, 2023. The American athlete shared a nostalgic moment from her childhood to mark the occasion. In a video shared on her social media, the tennis player was seen dancing her heart out as an eight-year-old at the US Open.
“Dancing my way into 19 likeeee… grateful for another year,” Gauff wrote on Instagram, adding, “Time flies… I wonder what she would think of me now.”
Numerous figures from the sporting world as well as from the entertainment industry wished the ambitious teenager a happy birthday. Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, in whose academy Gauff trained as a child, had high words of appreciation for her.
“Wishing you a very happy birthday, Coco Gauff! You are such an inspiring athlete and I’m so impressed by your maturity on and off court at such a young age! I’m really excited what the future holds for you!” Patrick Mouratoglou said.
“Happy bday! Enjoyyyy it,” wrote Paula Badosa.
Other colleagues such as Naomi Osaka, Sloane Stephens and Alycia Parks too joined in to wish the World No. 6 on her birthday. History-making Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who is Coco Gauff’s birthday twin, also wished the 19-year-old on the special day.
12-time Majors winner and American tennis legend Billie Jean King took to Twitter to send Gauff her wishes.
"To see what she's done at such a young age is pretty crazy" - Coco Gauff’s doubles partner Jessica Pegula
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are currently playing at Indian Wells 2023, and both players are into the Round of 16 in singles as well as doubles.
During a recent post-match press conference at the tournament, Gauff’s doubles partner Pegula commended the teenager for finding the right balance between family and career at such a young age.
“She's definitely really close with her family, which I think keeps her very grounded,” Jessica Pegula said in the post-match press conference. “Then she's kind of the star on the court. So it's cool to see how she's balanced it a lot at such a young age. I would say probably credit to her parents for helping her with that."
The World No. 3 further reflected on the youngster’s charming personality and acknowledged the numerous accolades she has earned in her young career.
"She's just a fun personality, and she's got such a long, long career ahead of her. Just to see what she's done at such a young age is pretty crazy," Jessica Pegula expressed.