Coco Gauff has reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final and faces her doubles partner Jessica Pegula on Centre Court on Tuesday. The duo are scheduled as the opening match on the main show court, meaning they will begin at 1.30pm.
However, the 22-year-old tennis ace has not registered at Wimbledon under her actual name. Gauff's first name is actually 'Cori' but her family felt the need to give her a nickname to prevent any confusion with her father Corey.
Why the Nickname 'Coco'?
"My dad's name is Corey. And so I guess, you know, they didn't want me to get my dad and me confused when my mom is like yelling at one of us in the house," the 22-year-old previously explained. "With Coco there are two stories. My aunt says she came up with calling me Coco. But then my dad said, when he was younger, people used to call me Co. Then he was like, I'll call my daughter Coco. I don't know which story is actually true, but they both get pretty bad if I don't say both of them. I just say that."
Travel Troubles with Her Real Name
The fact that most fans know Gauff by the nickname has been known to cause some minor confusion when booking flights and hotel accommodation. Sometimes the name on a reservation will not be the one she is most commonly known by. "Every time I check into hotels or people at the airport, they look at my ID, obviously the airport you book under your real name, but the person sometimes will recognise me and they'll be like, 'Wait, are you Coco?'" she said. "I'm like, 'Yeah, it's just a nickname. I'm not somebody that looks like her'. In the hotel, sometimes, like, 'Well, we don't have your room', I'm like, 'It's probably under Coco, not Cori', and then they'll do that."
Preparing for the Quarter-Final
Two-time Grand Slam champion Gauff first burst onto the scene at Wimbledon as a 15-year-old. Now she has a wealth of experience to draw upon as she prepares to face her doubles partner Pegula. "Honestly, it's going to be kind of similar. It will be the third flat hitter I've played in a row. I think the last two matches I've had definitely gave me prep for her," Gauff said. "Yeah, she's always a tough opponent for me. I think she's really consistent and gets a lot of balls back and can also play really aggressive, too. I think it's just going to be another one of those where I just have to be in it from start to finish."
