"We went from a two-income to a no-income household" - Coco Gauff gets emotional about her parents' sacrifices for her tennis career

Coco Gauff recently shared about the sacrifices her parents made when they moved from Georgia to Florida for the American to build a career in tennis.

Coco Gauff began playing tennis at six and spent her early years in Atlanta, where her father worked as the basketball coach at Georgia State University and her mother as an educator. But soon the family moved to Florida to provide Gauff with better training opportunities. This also meant her parents had to leave their careers behind.

The 21-year-old started training at the New Generation Tennis Academy at the age of eight, then under Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou. Now a two-time Grand Slam champion and multiple tour titles winner, Coco Gauff made it to the Forbes '30 under 30' list. In an interview with the publication, she opened up about her parents' sacrifices and how the family went from two-income to zero-income during their shift to Florida.

"At the time, I don't think I grasped how, because you know, you don't know any concept of money or anything. And yeah, like for me, when we moved from Georgia, we lived with my grandparents like, in their house. Um, and obviously as a kid, you're not thinking, oh, it's to save money or whatever. I'm just like, oh, I get to go live in Florida, live with my grandparents, and that's so fun to be around my cousins and everything. But now I'm looking back like, yeah, that's crazy. Like we went from a two-income household to a no-income household." (5:26)

Gauff won her second Major title at Roland Garros this year, her first Grand Slam on clay. She also became the second US player to triumph at the Wuhan Open, winning the WTA 1000 title for the first time in her career.

Coco Gauff received support from her parents when she broke down in tears at the US Open

Gauff at the WTA Finals 2025 - Day 6 - Source: Getty

Coco Gauff missed the chance to defend her US Open title in 2024 but aimed to reclaim it at the 2025 edition. She started strong against Ajla Tomljanović and then trounced Donna Vekić in the following round. However, her second-round win was hard-fought, marked by moments of crying that even carried over into the post-match rituals.

She later posted a series of pictures from the day on her Instagram, and received support from her parents, Candi and Corey Gauff.

"Your task is not easy, but you have been chosen. Accept the challenge with God's grace and mercy," wrote her mother.

Her father chimed in and wrote:

"Trust in yourself and we got you when you don't got you all of them uncles and aunties watching got you expressing vulnerability is not a weakness but a strength giving your best and your happiness is enough for me."

Coco Gauff ended the 2025 season ranked World No. 3, behind only Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.