“I’m more scared of my mom now than my dad” – Coco Gauff ‘gets in trouble’ with honest family rankings at US Open
In a candid US Open interview, Coco Gauff was asked to rank her family members based on athleticism. The World No. 4 hesitated before ranking her parents. The 2x Grand Slam winner’s parents, Candi and Corey Gauff, were both college athletes. Back in the day, Corey played basketball while Candi ran track.
On Tuesday, the 22-year-old opened her US Open campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Turkey’s Zeynep Sönmez. During a post-match interview, the 2026 Cincinnati Open title holder named her mother before her father, explaining that she is more scared of her mom. However, she revealed that if she had been asked the same question 10 years ago, she would have named her dad.
After asking Gauff to rank her family members based on their athleticism, the interviewer added, “Somebody’s gonna be mad.”
“I’m gonna get in trouble. I guess, number one, I gotta go with Cameron. Number two, I’m gonna go with Codey. And then this is where I get in trouble between my mom and dad,” Coco Gauff said.
“I’m gonna go, Mom, three because I’m more scared of my mom than my dad right now. But if you had asked me 10 years ago, I would have said dad first. But I’m number one,” Gauff added.
“I like to challenge my opponent” Coco Gauff makes bold admission post-US Open first match win
In a post-match interview, the American tennis professional in a navy blue New Balance kit admitted that she likes to challenge her opponent and raise the level of her game if she needs to. In Gauff’s 6-3, 6-4 straight set win against Turkey’s Zeynep Sönmez, the fourth seeded American applauded a few of Sönmez’s shots like a running forehand and a perfectly placed volley that barely skimmed over the net.
“I know that I can raise my level if I need to and I like to challenge my opponent to let them keep up the level the whole match. And if they do, I’ll clap my hands and I walk off court with my head held high,” Coco Gauff said.
Last year, Gauff reached the fourth round of the US Open before losing to Naomi Osaka. The American’s next match is scheduled for September 3, where she will face a to-be-determined opponent in front of her home crowd
