Wimbledon has had its fair share on the amazing racket display of young and upcoming tennis champion Cori ‘Coco’ Guaff. The 16-year-old made history at the tennis tournament by becoming the youngest player to qualify for the main Wimbledon draw since its opening in 1968. Adding more value and respect to her reigning season at the games, Cori knocked-out her own sporting hero Venus Williams, in the first round of the Grand Slam, a victory which cemented her accolades as the youngest tennis player to win a match at Wimbledon since 1991.
Leaving her name on the score sheets of Wimbledon’s most memorable tennis players of all time, Cori’s journey at the games wrapped up at a close when she faced off Simona Halep on July 8, where she was greeted with a defeat.
Answering press questions after her defeating game, Cori disclosed to BBC, her acquired experience, “I learned a lot. I learned how to play in front of a big crowd. I learned what it was like to play in front of a big crowd. I learned what it was like to be under pressure. I learned a lot and I’m really thankful for this experience.”
Clearly, defeating one of the most revered players in the world of tennis is reason enough to call the past few weeks as the best weeks of the young star’s life. This, Guaff added about her Wimbledon experience, “It was definitely the best week of my life. If somebody told me this three weeks ago, I probably wouldn’t believe it. I think just putting in the work definitely raised my confidence because I knew how hard I worked and I knew the shots I could make and what was possible.”
Fans of Cori might seem a tad disappointed about her exit, but the young icon believes she has left an unforgettable lesson, which they can all learn from, “I hope they [fans] learned about me-that I’m a fighter and I’ll never give up. I hope they learned from me that anything is possible if you work hard, just continue to dream big.”
