17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Coco Gauff celebrated 21st birthday with a new shoe that honors her Delray Beach roots
Coco Gauff turned 21 last Thursday and celebrated by going out to dinner with family in Delray Beach, hanging out with her cousins on Atlantic Avenue, and paying homage to her hometown with the launch of her second signature sneaker, the 'Coco Delray'.
Her first shoe, also by New Balance, was called 'CG1' and had the coordinates of Pompey Park, the Delray Beach public tennis courts where she grew up, inscribed on the soles. The coordinates are 26° 28' 0.75' N, 80° 5' 1.4' W.
The new shoe release is particularly special because it fell on her birthday, days before the start of the Miami Open tournament, and the ad campaign features the voice of her maternal grandmother Yvonne Lee Odom, a civil rights trailblazer who integrated Delray Beach public schools 60 years ago.
'I'm super excited, especially launching it on your birthday,' Gauff said on Monday at Hard Rock Stadium, where she will play later this week. 'Also, having the next tournament being in South Florida, with a shoe inspired by Delray Beach. So, a lot of great things happening and I'm just super blessed and thankful.'
Gauff, who said she likes the Miami Open because she can stay home rather than in a hotel, contributed to the refurbishment of the Pompey Park courts in March 2024, as part of a legacy initiative after her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.
'I'm gone most of the year, so just being home and having my family and that support system around me is great,' she said. 'Being here reminds me of how I started tennis and reminds me of my roots.'
Her father, Corey Gauff, was a star basketball player at Spanish River High School and played at Georgia State University. Her mother, Candi Odom Gauff, was a five-time state champion heptathlete at Delray Beach Atlantic High, ran track at FSU, and was also a competitive gymnast.
Gauff began raising eyebrows on the tennis courts as a young girl at Pompey Park and at the Junior Orange Bowl and Orange Bowl tournaments. She said the ad campaign for her new sneaker pays tribute to the Delray Beach community, which continues to support her, win or lose.
'It's the neighborhood aspect of Delray, in general, that I want people to know about,' she said. 'Everybody knows everyone around there, especially at Pompey Park, and these are people that never ask for anything since I was a kid and even now, as I've grown, you get people asking all sorts of favors and things like that.
'This community has always stayed true to me and are just there to help.'
She said when she goes out on Atlantic Boulevard, everyone is respectful of her privacy.
'It's probably the city where I get the most recognized, but honestly, it's an unsaid thing, but people just are respectful.'
That kind of support is especially appreciated after tough losses, like the one she suffered last week, the day before her birthday, in the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open iin Indian Wells, California. She lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Belinda Bencic, the third tournament in a row where she was beaten by an unseeded opponent.
Gauff ended the 2024 season on a high note, winning a title in Beijing and her first WTA Finals title in Riyadh. She was working to improve her serve and forehand and feeling good. She started 2025 with a win over Iga Swiatek and going 5-0 in United Cup, but it has been a roller coaster ride ever since.
She takes the losses in stride, but admits that the constant public scrutiny of each tough moment in her career can be trying. She said when she loses a match, a lot of people think something is wrong with her and reach out.
'Former players, or people in general will ask if I'm OK, and I'm like, `I just lost a couple of matches, I'm chilling,' said said, laughing. 'I'm obviously not happy with those results, but in my whole history of my career I've had ups and downs…People say, `Oh, you lost two matches in a row, something must be wrong,' but if I wasn't a top five player it wouldn't be a conversation. But that comes with being at the top. You're expected to win and I expect myself to win, as well.'
Gauff added that people often forget how young she is because she has been on tour so long, and that can lead to unrealistic expectations.
'Because I started so young, I do think people forget my age, so I'm probably not given the same amount of grace as others are given on tour,' she said. 'I still feel young, in life. I guess in tennis I feel middle-aged. It's been six years on tour, but I'm still 21. So, I make 21-year-old mistakes. I have a lot more to learn. Maybe when I reach 25 I'll have it all figured out.'
Miami Open qualifying rounds continued on Monday, and the main draw begins Tuesday. Among the players who won Monday: Americans Claire Lu, Mackenzie McDonald, Trystan Boyer, Darwin Blanch and Argentines Camilo Ugo Carabelli and Thiago Agustin Tirante.
