Coco Gauff is making significant strides in the tennis world, and although she wants to keep herself immersed in the game for the time being, there may be room for a career shift in the future.
According to Baseline, the reigning U.S. Open champion has dreams of someday pivoting into entrepreneurship, drawing inspiration from two women who have successfully transitioned from global superstardom in one area to displaying their business acumen in another. Asked who she’d like to sit and have a meal with, she mentioned both.
“I’m going to go with Rihanna,” she said, to hear how the singer and entrepreneur “started Fenty Beauty, because that was kind of one of the first makeup brands to provide a full shade range of foundation for all skin tones.” Gauff said she wanted to hear how Rihanna “navigated the business side of things,” while noting that “obviously Beyoncé has an amazing hair brand that just came out too.”
Coco Gauff, who turns 20 this week, reacts during a Sept. 9 match against Aryna Sabalenka during the women’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York. (Photo by Charles Krupa/AP)
Gauff, who turns 20 on March 13, has gained enormous popularity since making history last summer by becoming the youngest American woman to win the U.S. Open since Serena Williams in 1999. She appears on the April cover of Vogue and was named one of Time magazine’s Women of the Year.
As she nears the end of her teenage years, Gauff couldn’t help but reflect on how her exceptional athletic ability has transformed her life and career, allowing her to meet many “cool people” she may not have crossed paths with otherwise.
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At a Hollywood event honoring her selection by Time, she found herself in the same room as former WNBA champion Renee Montgomery, former Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, and other honorees, including actress Taraji P. Henson and director Greta Gerwig.
“For me, it was just really cool to be surrounded by incredible women,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to make the list, but when I found out, it was a huge honor.”
While she acknowledged that she wants to keep her focus on tennis for now, she asserted that entrepreneurship is “definitely” something she wants to pursue later in her career.
“I love beauty and fashion, so maybe something in that world. But, again, I haven’t really brainstormed. I’m not planning on starting anything anytime soon. I think I just want to focus on tennis,” said Gauff, Baseline reported. “But I would say towards the later half of my career, I don’t know what the later half will look like, but maybe, like, closer to 30, it might be something I actually try to set.”
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