Coco Gauff receives key to the city
Published 12:05 am Wednesday, December 4, 2019
- Though Coco Gauff lives in Florida, her St. John the Baptist Parish family is always there to support her. (2019 L'OBSERVATEUR staff photo)
LAPLACE — Cori “Coco” Gauff doesn’t view herself as a celebrity, so being handed the key to the city by St. John the Baptist Parish President Natalie Robottom on Friday was nothing short of a strange yet humbling experience.
A lot has changed for the tennis sensation since she visited her River Parishes family in 2018. She was competing in a professional tournament in Baton Rouge and running races with her cousins between rounds.
Coco Gauff became a household name this summer when the 15-year-old from Delray Beach Florida ended Venus Williams’ 2019 Wimbledon bid. She rose to fame in the tennis world before becoming old enough to get her driver’s license, and life has been a lot different ever since.
Last week, Gauff flew in from Florida to visit her aunts, uncles and cousins in St. John Parish. In between attending the Bayou Classic, watching the New Orleans Pelicans and cheering on her cousin Keenan Gauff during the St. Charles Catholic football semifinals, Gauff took a lot of photos with fans.
“A lot has changed since I came here last year. People definitely recognize me a lot more,” Gauff said. “At the Pelicans game, I got to meet Zion Williams, and that was pretty cool. It’s just weird to me because I see him on TV all the time. When I’m walking down the street and people recognize me, it’s weird to me because I don’t really see myself as a famous person.”
Friday marked the second time Gauff has received a key to the city. The first was in her hometown of Delray Beach. As Robottom presented her the second key to the city inside the new government complex, she said the key represents the youngster’s return to the “original” home of the Gauff family.
“I think it’s important for us to acknowledge people who come back,” Robottom said. “She has longtime family here. When we heard she was coming to town, we were sure to coordinate something for her.”
Tennis sensation Coco Gauff receives the key to the city from St. john the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre, Parish President Natalie Robottom and Assessor Lucien Gauff.
Gauff’s father, Corey Gauff, was born in Reserve but moved to Florida with his mother at an early age. As a child, he returned to St. John Parish every summer. He was a “ball boy” from the time he was young, according to family members who recalled him playing tennis at the DuPont court and pursuing a collegiate basketball career.
His daughter’s first shining moment in tennis came at age 8 in the International “Little Mo” tennis tournament in 2012.
Since then, she has become the youngest player in the Top 100 ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association. She has a career high ranking of No. 68 in the world.
Her cousin, St. John Parish Assessor Lucien Gauff, said plans for last week’s visit have been three months in the making. He was happy Gauff was able to attend the St. Charles Catholic pep rally before the big football game.
Gauff said it meant a lot to her to be welcomed into St. John Parish.
“I wasn’t expecting to get the key to the city, so this is pretty cool,” she said. “It means a lot to me because it’s more than just a regular trophy.”
Gauff was thankful to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family an her beloved Louisiana food. Her next move is to prepare for a January tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, and she encourages young people around the globe to never give up on their dreams.
“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t do it,” Gauff said. “A lot of times even the people closest to you like your parents can doubt your dreams, but you should always have a goal to reach for.”
