Coco Gauff Wants To Be Her ‘Best’ w/o Emulating Serena Williams

Coco Gauff, the #6 tennis player in the world, is letting it be known that she considers Serena Williams the “GOAT” (greatest of all time) — though she’s “not trying to fulfill those footsteps.”

Coco Gauff Says She’s Focused On Being “The Best That [She] Can Be”

The 19-year-old tennis star shared her commentary about Serena, 41, during a sit-down with PEOPLE.

She started by acknowledging the “slight pressure” she feels now that she has “everybody looking at [her].”

However, with the GOAT recently welcoming her second child and enjoying a hiatus from professionally competing, Coco Gauff notes, “It does put a little bit less pressure in a way because she is the greatest player of all time.”

Regarding Serena Williams, Coco proclaimed that she’s “not trying to fulfill those footsteps whatsoever.” Nonetheless, she acknowledged, “But obviously, I do want to be the best version of myself and be the best that I can be.”

The Athlete’s Commentary Coincides With Some Headline-Making Moves

While on the subject of Coco Gauff, we should note that she recently garnered attention after airing out her frustrations to an umpire during Round 1 of the U.S. Open on Monday (Aug. 28).

During her game against Laura Siegemund, Coco walked to the umpire and acknowledged being frustrated with how her opponent was “never ready.”

At one point, Coco appeared to push back against an insinuation that she was going too fast.

“I’m going the normal speed. Ask any ref here — I go a medium-pace speed.”

Before walking away, Gauff proclaimed, “I don’t care what she’s doing on her serve. But on my serve, she has to be ready.”

During the interaction, a sports commentator can be heard declaring, “She’s 100% right.”

Then, on Wednesday (Aug. 30), Coco came out victorious in her match-up against Mirra Andreeva during Round 2 of the competition. As a result, Coco advanced to the next tier, and Taylor Townsend accompanied her in this accomplishment.