The burden of bearing Coco, which is not even Cori Gauff's real name
Tennis star Coco Gauff's real name is Cori. "My aunt says she came up with calling me Coco," Gauff explained to the media during the 2024 US Open. "But then my dad [Corey Gauff] said when he was younger, people used to call [him] 'Co.' Then he was like, 'I'll call my daughter Coco.’”
"I don't know which story is true, but they both get pretty mad if I don't say both of them,” she added.
"I guess they didn't want me to get my dad and me confused when my mom is yelling at one of us in the house," she said.
Difficulties come with bearing Coco Gauff,
“Every time I check into hotels or people at the airport, they look at my ID, and obviously at the airport, you book under your real name, but the person sometimes will recognise me and they'll be like, 'Wait, are you Coco?' I'm like, 'Yeah, it's just a nickname. I'm not somebody that looks like her," Gauff said.
"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,” she added.
"I think it's cool to be known kind of [on] a first-name basis, in the tennis world, at least," she said. "I think maybe just because Coco is just so easy and recognisable. People like it more than using my last name, which kind of just sounds like a sport.
