From one tennis icon to another, Venus Williams is showing Coco Gauff the love after her U.S. Open win on Sept. 9.After TODAY posted a video of co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb’s interview with the 19-year-old on Sept. 9, Williams commented on YouTube, “congrats coco <3.”
It was a full circle moment, since Gauff initially made her tennis mark in July 2019 by beating Williams at Wimbledon and becoming the youngest player to ever qualify for the main draw.At the U.S. Open women’s final Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York City, Gauff defeated Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 in the last set.
“It’s so crazy, I don’t think I’ve gotten to digest. Even last night I was telling myself, ‘You’re a Grand Slam champion,'” Gauff told Savannah. “It doesn’t feel real at all.”Hoda then pointed to an iconic moment when Gauff laid down on the court, asking how it felt to “take it all in.”
The champion explained that “it hit all at once,” but that she didn’t allow herself to think about winning too much or she’d “start shaking,” adding that she hasn’t historically won on the first match point.
“I was a little bit shocked and I couldn’t breathe either,” she recalled with a laugh.Gauff also revealed what she said on court when she dropped to her knees and appeared to say a prayer.”I was just saying, ‘Thank you,’ and ‘I understood all the tough times were just to make that moment even sweeter,'” she said. “I think if it came easy…I wouldn’t feel as appreciative as I did in that moment, clearly.”
The last time Gauff was in a Grand Slam final, she said she “couldn’t sleep the whole night.” But that changed this year — even if just for several hours — thanks to her boyfriend who stayed up talking to her until 1 a.m. the night before.”I was like OK it’s 1, so I have to go to sleep if I actually want to be productive tomorrow,” she said, adding that talking to him helped her get some shut-eye.
