There is a disturbing history between overbearing parents and athletes. When one tracks back, one can find many tennis stars who have a bad relationship with their fathers. Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriati, and Stefanos Tsitsipas are all infamous for having troublesome fathers. While there are many bad apples, there are some great ones as well.

Coco Gauff is one player whose father is present for her tennis journey but is not overbearing and dictatorial. Andy Roddick recently lauded her father for his mindfulness, and Gauff recently talked about his statement. 

Coco Gauff is “really happy” for Andy Roddick’s words

After a long history of tennis stars having parents that take shape from nightmares, Gauff came out as the exception. While her father is deeply involved in her tennis career, he knows when to let her take the lead, listen to her about her plans, and guide her properly. Roddick saw his efforts and praised him for considering Gauff’s mental well-being.

When asked about it before her opening round clash in the Qatar Open, she said, “Yeah, I think that for me it was a great thing that Andy said that, and I’m really happy that he said that, because, you know, in tennis there are situations where parents in general in the past have been not as kind and kind of terrible to their kids.”

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Gauff then talked about a major stigma, “And I know that they have that stigma. The world in general, especially in America with Black fathers, it’s always a thing that Black fathers aren’t in their kids’ lives or that they are not great leaders or households, great fathers.”

She was highly grateful to Roddick, “So when Andy said that, I think people actually listened, because I always talk about how great my dad is, but some people believe me and some people don’t, but my dad is truly a great father. He’s done everything to get me where I am, and I’m glad that other people see that, because he’s not the type of person to be in the front spotlight.”

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Gauff also said that she is happy that the world gets to see a piece of how great her father is because he would not try to get any attention on himself. Additionally, she said it’s her and her brother’s job to know how great he is. She was also thankful for Roddick’s praise of her father and was glad he could see it. She feels lucky to have a caring father and will continue to reap the benefits of being the daughter of Codey Gauff.

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