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Being a young, rising, and black tennis star is not an easy job.

Ask Coco Gauff who’s previously echoed that “sometimes you do stick out like a sore thumb. Like in the Black community, tennis is not a huge thing. Nobody really knew anything about it.” But there’s always inspiration to seek in order to focus on your goals. For the 2023 US Open winner, the sources of motivation while growing and taking up tennis were the 30-time combined Slam champions Venus and Serena Williams. But it’s not just their on-court aura that has encouraged Gauff in her career. She’s even taken up the amazing hairstyles of them while infusing her own creative touch.

It’s Black History Month and Gauff couldn’t have chosen a better occasion to express her feelings as a black tennis player representing her community. The World No.3 and 2024 WTA Finals champion took to Instagram to reveal her special collaboration with Carol’s Daughter to celebrate Black History Month. Since her deal with the brand in April 2024, Gauff has been part of its various campaigns but the latest one is special. Being a huge fan of the Williams sisters, Gauff decided to pay “homage” to them with her new hairstyle, having beaded cornrows. In a clip shared on her IG, dated February 25, she said, “I remember obviously watching Venus and Serena when I was young. This look is kind of an homage to them.”

Is It Too Much Color”: Rooted in Heritage, Coco Gauff's Bold New Look  Honors Icons Serena and Venus Williams - EssentiallySports

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“They’ve always changed their hair. They had the beads, they had the braids, they had the curls, they had straight, they had everything.” Surely they had. Remember how, when the two sisters began their careers in the early 2000s, they made headlines with their beaded hairstyles?

Take for example Serena’s 1999 US Open campaign. En route to her maiden Slam victory, she turned heads with a look having white and yellow beads in her hair. The same was the case with Venus Williams, who sported beads for the majority of her career on the court. While they became a style statement, she once faced trouble because of them. Back in 1999, during the Australian Open QF against Lindsay Davenport, some of Venus’ beads fell on the ground. It happened when she jumped to serve the ball. The chair umpire then handed her a point penalty for causing disturbance. But she didn’t believe her beads acted as a means to distract her opponent. Later, she continued to flaunt them in subsequent events too.

Emphasizing how she was moved by the Williams sisters’ looks, Gauff added, “When I became more aware of what I wanted to do with my hair, I was taking inspiration and taking note of what they were doing with their hair.” Reflecting on her black heritage, she further remarked, “I think, as a Black woman especially in a predominantly white sport, you’re obviously very aware of your hair and how it’s perceived. I remember thinking, ‘Is it too Black? Is it too much? Is it too much color?’”

Apart from paying tribute to her idols, Gauff also uses her hairstyle as a way of “self-expression”. She made it evident on a previous occasion.

Remember how Coco Gauff sported the box braids when she burst onto the tennis scene at the 2019 Wimbledon? But prior to the 2023 US Open, she switched the style to fit the cornrows in her hair. “Honestly, I wanted to try this and I got tired of braids all the time. I like to change up my hair,” she said. “I’ve tried color in the past with the braids and everything, but I just needed something different.”

After she signed a multi-year partnership with Carol’s Daughter last season, it opened endless opportunities for her to experiment with her hair. Another reason to join the brand was its focus on uplifting black beauty. “I was using Carol’s Daughter’s products for years before this opportunity came to me,” she said, as reported by PopSugar in April 2024. “As I’ve matured, I’ve started learning to embrace my hair more, and working with this brand felt like perfect alignment. It was founded by a Black woman with an emphasis on family, and given how close I am to mine, this partnership just felt authentic to me.”

Revealing the idea behind changing her styles, Gauff explained, “Whether it’s box braids, twists, or my natural hair, it’s a form of self-expression that I’m really proud of, especially because you still don’t see it very often in our sport.”

But what about tennis? Well, the 2024 Australian Open semifinalist is yet to find her form this season. After crashing out of Melbourne last month, in the QF stage, her journey in 2025 isn’t going smoothly. At the Qatar Open earlier this month, she couldn’t move past the first round. Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk beat her with a score line of 6-2, 7-5. Then at the Dubai Tennis Championships, last week, she failed to impress yet again, losing to compatriot McCartney Kessler in straight sets again, by 6-4, 7-5 to be precise.

Venus Williams has enjoyed a legendary career on the WTA Tour and still has more left in the tank.

The 44-year-old American star won seven Grand Slam singles titles during her career, including five Wimbledon crowns.

Williams held the number one ranking for 11 weeks in 2002 as she climbed to the top of the women’s game.

Serena Williams Being Supported By Venus Is An Ode To Sisterhood | Glamour  UK

READ: Serena Williams hits back at Super Bowl backlash

She perhaps would’ve won even more in her career had she not dealt with competition from her younger sister, Serena Williams.

The 43-year-old won 23 Major titles, ending her career in 2022 as arguably the greatest player in the history of the WTA Tour.

Battling it out for more than 20 years, the Williams sisters developed a legendary rivalry that helped take women’s tennis to another level.

During the rivalry, Venus Williams did whatever it took to get ahead of her sister, sometimes to her own detriment.

Speaking on her YouTube channel, Williams explained how a lack of flexibility troubled her throughout her professional career.

“Some people like Serena [Williams], she’s so much looser than me, and she could do middle splits and all this stuff,” she said.

“There’s a point where I was really trying to work on getting a lot looser but I actually ended up hurting myself in that process.

“The reason is once you start actually stretching a lot more to get more flexibility, it actually strengthens you.”

Williams then explained what she came to ‘accept’ over time in her career.

“I’m not the most flexible person, I tried, I tried, I realized it’s not me,” she said.

“I’d be on tour watching other tennis players, and I’m like, why are they so flexible, then I realized it’s just not me.

“So I accepted that I’m not the most flexible person, and that’s ok.”

Williams explained her stretching routines to her fans, something that she’ll need to keep on top of as she returns to the sport next month.

The 44-year-old was handed a Wild Card to the Indian Wells tournament in California, where she will make her first professional appearance since losing in the 2024 Miami Open first round.

Venus and Serena Williams faced off 31 times in total, as they clashed on tennis’ biggest stages.

Serena led the head-to-head 19-12, although their record in Major finals was far more lopsided, as the younger of the two sisters dominated at the Grand Slam level.

Grand Slam final Winner Loser Score
2017 Australian Open Serena Williams Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4
2009 Wimbledon Serena Williams Venus Williams 7-6, 6-2
2008 Wimbledon Venus Williams Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4
2003 Wimbledon Serena Williams Venus Williams 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
2003 Australian Open Serena Williams Venus Williams 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
2002 US Open Serena Williams Venus Williams 6-4, 6-3
2002 Wimbledon Serena Williams Venus Williams 7-6, 6-3
2002 French Open Serena Williams Venus Williams 7-5, 6-3
2001 US Open Venus Williams Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4
Venus Williams and Serena Williams’ Grand Slam final head-to-head

Venus heartbreakingly lost seven Major finals to her sister, including five in a row between 2002 and 2003.

They faced off for a Grand Slam title one final time at the Australian Open in 2017, as fans witnessed another chapter of their legendary rivalry.

In straight sets, Serena secured her 23rd and final Major title, taking her sister down on the big occasion once again.

Their last Major final meeting came in 2017, but the last time fans saw Venus and Serena Williams face off was in Lexington five years ago.

Serena was the top seed at the event, as she took on her sister in the second-round, after Venus beat former two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka in her opening match.

It was Venus who struck first, taking the first set 6-3, before her younger sister battled back in the second and third.

Eventually, Serena pulled through, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the quarter-finals in Lexington.

It was there that she lost to fellow American Shelby Rogers as her campaign came to an abrupt end.

The sisters never played again on the WTA Tour, as a legendary rivalry saw its final chapter written in Lexington, Kentucky, five years ago.

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