Every tennis fan knows this Coco Gauff is from Delray Beach.
Die-hard tennis fans, however, learned that Gauff was born in Atlanta, where her parents were living at the time due to the work of her father, Cori. This is what it says on Wikipedia and in many previous WTA/tennis biographies.
Well, that’s an alternative fact.
Gauff, the World No. 3 playerwas actually born at West Boca Medical Center, the Palm Beach Post has learned.
Coco’s mom Candi was in the Boca Raton/Delray area for her baby shower at the time. It was organized in Delray Beach by Coco’s grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom.
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As timing would have it, before the family celebration, Candi’s water broke and they rushed Candi to West Boca Medical Center where she had Coco ahead of schedule on March 13, 2004.
“We always had the baby shower at Mrs. Odom’s house while Candi was in the hospital,” said Chenay Lowe, Candi’s cousin. “It was too late to cancel the shower.”
The Gauffs lived in the Atlanta area until moving back to Delray Beach when Coco was 7 years old.
Fast forward to now. Yvonne Lee Odomo’s sister is Brenda Williams, and Williams’ granddaughters are Cassidy and Courtney Lowe, Coco’s cousins. (Chenay Lowe is their mother).
The Gauff/Lowes will host another family reunion in New Orleans on Monday when the Lowe Sisters compete in a college basketball game between Dillard University and Talladega College of the HBCAU. Coco thought about attending the game to see her cousins play.
The professional tennis tour is on an annual break and Coco is in Delray Beach after a fabulous end to her eventful 2024 season.
Coco won her first ever WTA season-ending championships in Saudi Arabia in November to finish 2024 ranked third in the world. She also won the China Open before the WTA Championships.
Coco Gauff earned $30.4 million in 2024
For the second year, she became the highest-earning female athlete, earning a total of $30.4 million.
Although she did not add another Grand Slam to her 2023 US Open title, she reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and French Open. Then Coco faltered with fourth-round defeats at Wimbledon and the US Open. She also failed to win a medal at the Paris Olympics.
The defeat at the US Open prompted Gauff to separated from her famous trainer, Brad Gilbertand hiring Matt Daly, a former Notre Dame player who worked with Denis Shapalov.
On Instagram, Coco recently wrote:
“I am very grateful for all the support over the last few weeks. To win the last tournament of the season and it’s also my second biggest title of my career so far is crazy. Wow WTA FINALS CHAMPION. All glory to God in all truth. I am forever grateful for the life I get to live and experiencing moments like this are worth all the hours and sacrifices I put into it. it’s time to rest a little, but then it’s back to work for the next few years, szn.
More: Coco Gauff makes history as Olympic flag bearer. How her grandmother made history in Delray
This article was originally published on the Palm Beach Post: Tennis Star Coco Gauff May Live in Palm Beach County for Many Reasons