In July 2019, 15-year-old Coco Gauff gained international attention by defeating Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, in the first round at Wimbledon. Gauff continued her impressive performance by beating Williams again at the Australian Open in January 2020. By July 2021, Gauff and Williams teamed up as doubles partners at Roland-Garros, but they were eliminated in the first round.

Despite being close to her childhood idols, Venus and Serena Williams, Gauff’s admiration for them remains strong. Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, has returned to professional tennis after nearly four years away. Gauff expressed her respect for the sisters, saying, “I played the sport because of them, believed that I could do things because of them, and I still look up to them a lot.” Her comments came during her first Wimbledon press conference over the weekend, where she mentioned she feels admiration even when competing against them.

This week, Serena and Venus Williams are set to compete in doubles together at Wimbledon for the first time since the 2022 US Open. They are scheduled to play against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra in the first round on Thursday, July 2. The sisters have won six doubles Wimbledon titles together. Before entering the doubles competition, Serena Williams will have her first singles match since the 2022 US Open against Maya Joint, a 20-year-old, on Tuesday, June 30. Serena Williams is a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion.

Though Gauff has never competed against Serena Williams, there is a possibility for a match in the future if Williams continues her singles career past Wimbledon. “I would really love to play with Coco,” Williams shared after a recent match in Berlin, acknowledging Gauff’s talent and listing her as someone she wanted to partner with.

Currently ranked No. 7 in singles, Gauff is pursuing her first Wimbledon title. She will begin the tournament with a first-round match against No. 78, Tamara Korpatsch, on Monday, June 29.