"I thank God for you everyday" - Coco Gauff wishes her mother Candi a happy birthday

Coco Gauff took to social media today to wish her mother Candi Gauff a very happy birthday.

The American teenager's parents have sports backgrounds. Her father, Corey Gauff, is a former basketball player at Georgia State University and her mother, Candi Gauff, used to be a track and field athlete at Florida State University.

Coco took to social media to wish her mum a happy birthday. She shared a collage of photos taken with her mother and stated that she thanked God every day for her mother.

“happy birthday mom. i love you more than i can ever show. enjoy your day @candigauff! I thank God for your everyday,” wrote Coco Gauff.

Coco Gauff's Instagram story

In an interview not long ago, Candi Gauff described how she gradually stopped acting as a coach and started acting solely as a mother as her daughter grew older.

"In the beginning, I would watch her practice, take notes, and just listen to what some of the coaches were saying. And then I relayed the information to Corey (Coco's father). But as Coco became a teenager, she didn’t want to listen to my advice as a coach,” said Candi Gauff.

"I backed away and let only my husband give that kind of advice. I became mainly the mom. To raise her and making sure that she is doing her school work, developing friendship and having a social life. And just answering some things that a young lady would want to know,” she added.

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Coco Gauff begins preseason preparations ahead of 2023 campaign

Coco Gauff in action at the 2022 US Open

Coco Gauff has officially begun her preparations for the upcoming year. The tennis star took to social media to announce the start of her preseason, writing:

"First official day of preseason and lol it's gonna be a longgggg but good one"

She enjoyed a successful 2022 campaign in which the 18-year-old made it to her first Major final at the French Open and reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 4 in October.

Gauff also formed a strong doubles partnership with Jessica Pegula. They won titles in Doha, Toronto, and San Diego, as well as finishing second at Roland Garros. She achieved the No. 1 doubles ranking earlier in the season and ended the year ranked No. 4. She eventually qualified for the WTA Finals in both the singles and doubles categories, but was unable to get past the round-robin stage.

She concluded her singles season at No. 7 in the world with a 38-23 win-loss record.

Gauff will kick off her 2023 season in Auckland at the ASB Classic, which will be played between January 2-14. She confirmed her participation in the event and expressed her excitement at returning to a tournament she last competed in 2020.

"Auckland is such a beautiful city and I am excited to come back. I chose to return because the fans, the atmosphere and the city are unique to the tour," Gauff said.

"I definitely missed New Zealand the last two years and I am excited to kick my year off back in Auckland," she added.