Coco Gauff Shares Heartfelt Tribute to Grandparents After They Receive ‘Well-Deserved’ Community Award

Just a few days ago, Coco Gauff was spotted enjoying some time with her grandfather, Eddie ‘Red’ Odom. She shared a picture of her grandfather, whose online presence is almost non-existent on social media. Gauff captioned, “Granddad💜,” on the selfie with him. Along with her grandfather’s picture, she also shared a few glimpses of her preparations for Thanksgiving. A few weeks before, she had a sumptuous seafood date with her grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom. Her grandparents have played a crucial role in her upbringing. Recently, Coco Gauff highlighted an incredible achievement of her grandparents. What was it, though?

Coco Gauff’s grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom, has weathered quite a few storms in her life. However, she has never hesitated to stand up for herself and the community when it mattered the most. She was the first Black student at Delray Beach’s Seacrest High School. In 1961, during the time of segregation and prejudice, she incurred a ban from a bus carrying white pupils and teachers even asked her not to use the same loos. However, that’s not the end of her inspiring story! Despite being a sprinter and captain of her old school’s basketball team, Odom was cruelly denied the chance to play at the Seacrest, simply because she was Black.

It shattered her dream of a college sports scholarship! However, she never gave up her fight. Now she has finally managed to fulfill all her unfulfilled wishes through her granddaughter. Even her grandfather has played a crucial role in inspiring their granddaughter on her tennis journey. We often see Gauff speaking about their contributions to her life and recently, she was spotted congratulating them on winning the Community Lifetime Achievement Award. The tennis star shared a photo of her grandparents on her IG Story with the caption, “community lifetime achievement award 💜 no one more deserving @yvonne.odom my grandparents >>>.”

Coco Gauff has garnered a reputation for speaking her mind! We’ve often seen her speaking against anti-LGBTQ laws in her home state, Florida. There have also been instances when the tennis star was also spotted demanding racial justice at a BLM rally. She never shies away from taking bold steps and raising her voice on what she feels is right. Is this inspired by her grandparents’ incredible contribution to the community? I mean, who’s her real inspiration?

Well, speaking on this Gauff once revealed, “She’s (grandmother) the sole, or one of the main, reasons why I use my platform the way that I do and why I feel so comfortable speaking out.” Further talking about her battles in her life, Gauff once said, “For her (Yvonne Lee Odom) to go through what she did during that time [makes me think that] putting out a tweet or saying a speech is so easy compared to that. That’s why I have no problem doing the things that I do. She always reminds me that I’m a person first instead of an athlete.”

Not only that, even during the 2023 BJK Cup, the young American tennis star shared her thoughts on how her grandparents have become a “true inspiration.” Coco Gauff said, “Yeah, my grandmother. Grandparents in general just mean a lot to me. I know a lot of you probably know what my grandmother or grandfather has done for this community regarding racial justice, equality, and equality in general.” What does her grandmother think about Gauff’s incredible rise, though?

“Coco Gauff was destined for greatness” – Yvonne Lee Odom heaps praise on her granddaughter’s incredible rise

Coco Gauff is just 20 years old and has already won 9 titles in her career and guess what? That includes her heroics at the 2023 US Open! The small kid from Atlanta, Georgia, is now a Top 3 player! What does her grandmother think about this rapid rise? Well, during a previous conversation, Yvonne Lee Odom revealed, “Coco, to me, was destined for greatness because as a little girl, she displayed that in many ways. I love you, you know I always say I love you, but do your best.”

This year she became the youngest flag bearer ever for the US at the Olympics Ceremony. Coco Gauff also managed to finish the year on a high note by winning the WTA Finals. She has seen a lot of ups and downs throughout these past six years. So what lesson does her grandmother want to teach her life?

Coco Gauff  has shared a humorous anecdote about the first time she encountered the legendary Serena Williams, revealing that she initially dismissed the tennis icon as just someone who looked a lot like her.

The 20-year-old, who has often expressed her admiration for the Williams sisters, recounted the surprising moment when she and her idol happened to cross paths. Gauff’s disbelief turned to sheer joy upon realizing that the figure she spotted was indeed the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

“Serena was actually filming a commercial at the same location where I was practicing,” Gauff explained during an interview on Hair Me Out, hosted on the Refinery29 YouTube channel. “I thought I was seeing a stunt double at first, but then it hit me, and I was beyond excited! She came over to offer me advice and had a quick chat with me.”

Both Serena and Venus Williams have long been trailblazers for Black representation in tennis, and Gauff is proudly following in their footsteps. “I admire Serena’s style, her hair, and how she confidently showcases her curls and braids,” Gauff noted. “I aspire to embrace diversity in my hairstyles. When you look and feel good, it certainly elevates your game.”

Gauff has consistently expressed her immense respect for Serena, and in a recent interview, Williams returned the compliment by praising Gauff’s tennis intellect. “Coco possesses a remarkable tennis IQ. She truly thinks through her game, plus her movement is exceptional. I admire her mental resilience,” Williams stated.

In 1999, Serena Williams clinched her first Grand Slam title at the US Open, and 23 years later, the arena witnessed the conclusion of her storied career. Just a year following Serena’s retirement, Gauff achieved her own Grand Slam glory in New York, becoming the first American teenager to win the US Open since her idol. During her trophy presentation, the young champion acknowledged the profound influence the Williams sisters had on her journey.

Gauff has always recognized that tennis is not the predominant sport in the Black community, often feeling like an outlier. Yet, the success of Serena and Venus inspired her to pursue her dreams: “What sets me apart? We’re all unique individuals, and that’s something special to celebrate. Figuring out my identity was challenging. In a sport where Black representation is minimal, it can feel isolating,” Gauff shared in a video for Baker Tilly US. “But having role models like Serena and Venus made a monumental difference in my life. I still remember watching Venus at the US Open from our second-row tickets, and that experience fuels my ambition. Seeing someone who looks like you succeed in a predominantly white sport can ignite belief and hope.”

Currently, Gauff is in Riyadh, gearing up for her third consecutive WTA Finals. She will face her fellow American and close friend, Jessica Pegula, in her opening match. Gauff’s group also includes top contenders Iga Swiatek and Barbora Krejcikova.

Coco Gauff has yet another reason to celebrate, and it has nothing to do with tennis.

The 20-year-old has been on a three-week tournament break as she prepares for the year-end WTA Finals in Riyadh, but has continued to rack up the achievements off the court during this time.

After leading the way among the tennis players named on SportsPro’s annual list of the world’s 50 most marketable athletes last week, Gauff was then given the ultimate surprise just days later.

The American received a mention from rapper Tyler, The Creator in his latest song ‘Thought I was Dead’.

In the single, ahead of the release of his upcoming album ‘Chromakopia’, Tyler raps: “B****, you ain’t Coco Gauff, you can’t serve me.”

And it didn’t take long for this to come to Gauff’s attention, with the tennis star known to be a huge fan of the musician.

Replying to a teaser of the track’s music video on X, the world number three gushed: “waking up to my name being mentioned in a tyler song… absolutely insane. thank you.”

Gauff also shared a clip of Tyler’s reference on her Instagram story, alongside the caption: “What Tyler said.”

The shout out would undoubtedly have been a dream come true for the US tennis sensation, who has made no secret of her love for the artist in the past.

In November 2023, Gauff attended the annual Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival music festival, which was founded by Tyler.

Whilst at the event, she was also pictured wearing a varsity jacket from Tyler’s ‘Golf Le Fleur’ lifestyle brand.

And while the 2023 US Open Champion was clearly thrilled with the name-drop, some users online were quick to point out the facts surrounding the rapper’s ‘serve’ reference.

Gauff herself has identified the shot as an area for improvement, having admitted that she would be focusing on developing it with new coach Matt Daly, who specialises in grip changes.

In her last outing, a semi-final defeat to Aryna Sabalenka at the Wuhan Open, Gauff served an astonishing 21 double faults.

This detail was not lost on fans, who quickly highlighted this in their analysis of Tyler’s lyrics.

One wrote: “I would’ve picked another player.”

Another added: “lmao the irony of using her serve as a flex. He clearly doesn’t watch tennis.”

With one tournament remaining of her 2024 season, Gauff will be hoping an improved serve can help her to end the year on a high at the WTA Tour finals, which begin in Riyadh on Saturday, November 2.

Her previous best in the competition came last yea, reaching the semi-finals, and the American now has a shot at going one further as she targets a strong finish to a tough year.

Despite tournament wins at the Auckland Open in January and the China Open earlier this month, Grand Slams have proved less successful for Gauff this term.

She suffered semi-final defeats at both the Australian and French Open, while she crashed out of both Wimbledon and the US Open in the fourth round.

If it were up to Coco Gauff, every day would be Halloween! The young American tennis sensation might have had a challenging season, but that hasn’t dampened her spirit and Gauff refuses to let the setbacks get to her. Instead, she’s embracing her off-court passions, and Halloween is clearly at the top of that list!

The American tennis sensation has expressed time and again her fondness for the Spooky season. And with Halloween around the corner, Gauff is failing to control her excitement. The star player took to her Instagram story on Monday to share pictures from an outing as she began the celebrations for what may be perfectly called her favorite time of the year.

In a string of stories that Gauff shared, she can be seen enjoying the Halloween celebrations. Posting a video of a spooky doll, which transitions its expressions from being friendly to being terrifying, Gauff wrote, “Why she switch up on me like that? Like I thought we were friends again!?” In the subsequent story, she shared a picture of herself from outside a place that read “Halloween Horror Nights.” Captioning the story, the star player wrote, “Spooky szn is the best time of the year.” With that, her stories on her social media continued.

Gauff also shared a post on her story where she can be seen wearing a floral outfit as she posed for the camera. “The theme was 70s,” she wrote about her attire. The star player has struggled significantly in her professional endeavors. She clinched two titles this season at the ASB Classic and the China Open, but she seems to let nothing come in the way of her love for the Spooky season. Interestingly, this is not the first time when the star player has expressed her love for the season or has flaunted her Halloween-special attire.

Ahead of the WTA finals last year, Coco Gauff opened up on her passion for Halloween in a pre-tournament conference. “I’ve always been passionate about Halloween since I was a kid. I always loved to dress up. I would do it, like, year-round. I’ve always talked about wanting to go to [do] cosplay, the conventions, and all of that.” Gauff said in Cancun. In 2021, Gauff was also seen dressing up as Velma, which she considers as one of her favorite efforts. Her passion for Halloween was witnessed in the subsequent years as well.

In 2022, Coco touched upon her inner mystic self and dressed as Raven from “Teen Titans.” She also tried her hands at being a movie villain in 2023 and took the internet by storm. But while Gauff is extremely enthusiastic about the spooky season, her family is not much of a fan of Halloween.

When Coco Gauff revealed forcing her family to dress up for Halloween

Coco Gauff’s passion for style has often come to light. Be it dazzling up off-court events or dressing up for Halloween, the star player has never shied away from expressing herself. However, she revealed that her family is not as excited as her when it comes to Halloween, and she often ends up forcing them to dress up for the season.

Speaking in the same interview ahead of the WTA Finals last year, Gauff revealed, “With my family, honestly only three members of my family, or two, one actually, Cameron is the only one who is really keen to doing it. The rest I just kind of force to do it.” Last year, she claimed that her family members were not even ready for basic dress-up.

“We have some funny videos of us trying to get pictures together. My dad is fed up. Codey is fed up. They don’t care about Halloween that much, but they do it for me. You can see their costumes are the least effort amount. This year they just had to put on a mask,” Gauff shared. For now, it would be interesting to see which costume Coco Gauff and her family pick to send player’s fandom into a frenzy.