The rise of the 21-year-old Delray Beach, Florida resident, Coco Gauff, from a budding star to a superstar has been an incredible journey. She made her WTA Tour debut in March at the 2019 Miami Open. Gauff was then just 15 years old, and in that same year, she received a wildcard into the qualifying draw for the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. There she created a historic moment in her career by defeating the five-time Wimbledon Champion, Venus Williams, in the fourth round. Then, almost four years later, she won her first major title at the 2023 US Open. She has gradually climbed up the ladder since and now she’s ranked third in the world! Her plan is to win “multiple” Grand Slam titles. But what’s next, after that? Well, when she was previously asked about how she wished to end her career, she said, “When it’s time to retire, I want to make sure it’s on my terms and not because of an injury or anything like that.“ Does she have any post-retirement plans, though?

Well, Coco Gauff has already shown remarkable business savvy from a pretty young age. Just a few months ago, she launched her own management firm. Gauff parted ways with her longtime agency, Team8, to start up Coco Gauff Enterprises. This business move involved starting a relationship with WME, an agency that has also represented her tennis idol, Serena Williams. Speaking about this new move, Gauff said, “This is just the beginning of an exciting new era for me, and there is much more to come, which I’ll be excited to share in due time. As always, tennis will continue to be my main priority!“

She also added, “From the moment I first picked up a tennis racket, I’ve always believed my purpose extended far beyond the court.” All she now wants is to make an impact, not just in tennis but also “in business, philanthropy, and beyond.“ Notching up her ambitions to a new level, Coco Gauff recently shed light on her post-retirement plans. In a recent fun session at the Italian Open, all the tennis players were asked to reply to a few questions that were thrown at them by their fans.

Gauff was asked, “Once you’re done with professional tennis what would you do with your life?” In reply to that, the American said, “Yeah, this is too far of a question (laughs). I’d love to produce a TV show or a movie or something like that. Be an executive producer.“

Well, this wasn’t the first time that we’ve seen her showcasing her interests in film production. Last month, she shared a fun IG reel with Con Los Gonzalez de Tour. In that video clip she was asked to name her favorite player, and replying to that, she revealed, “I like ‘Interstellar,’ ‘Aftersun,’ I’m a huge Marvel fan so I like ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Gauff is a big Marvel fan, and her love for movies has now indeed encouraged her to look for other creative ventures.

For example, she also revealed, “I would love to maybe create my own brand one day. Whether that’s in film production or beauty. But preferably something in the production side of things. I think I would like to do that!“ Interestingly, even her tennis idols, Venus and Serena Williams, executive-produced Oscar-nominated ‘King Richard‘, and they also have their own production ventures. For Serena Williams, it’s 926 Productions, and for Venus, it’s Deals in Heels. Is Gauff following the footsteps of the tennis idols?

Coco Gauff has a good chance of putting her name beside her idol with a win against Jasmine Paolini

It took Coco Gauff almost 3 hours and 32 minutes to take down Qinwen Zheng by 7-6(3),4-6,7-6(4) in the SF of the 2025 Italian Open. Her incredible resilience shone throughout this match, and now she sets her sights on becoming the first American to win the Italian Open title since Serena Williams in 2016. What did Gauff say after this epic battle? 

“I was just trying to go for every point. I knew before it was going to be a physical match. Last time we played was over three hours. Overall I’m just happy. Wasn’t my best level at all, to be honest. Just happy to get through it and through to another final, ” said Gauff. Although the American has a 2-1 lead over Paolini, it was the Italian who had the last laugh in their previous meeting at the 2025 Stuttgart Open.

Over there in the QF match, Paolini defeated her by 6-4,6-3, and while sharing her thoughts on that match, Gauff said, “[The Stuttgart quarterfinal vs. Paolini] was a tough match. She played well. She’s a tough opponent.” Then coming back to this encounter in Rome, she added, “I think especially here with the home crowd behind her, she’s going to be playing some great tennis. I have to expect that. Hopefully, I can bring a better level and hopefully win the title. If not, I’m proud just really of this [semifinal] match, too.“

On the other side, Jasmine Paolini denied an all-American clash in the final by defeating Peyton Stearns by 7-5,6-1 in the SF. With this win, she has now become the first Italian finalist on the women’s side in Rome for almost eleven years. Paolini expressed her joy after the match, saying, “I am very happy, I don’t know what to say! It’s a dream to be here, it’s a dream to play in Italy, it’s a dream to be able to play the final.” She will now be expecting the home crowd to show her support in this mega battle while she sets her sights on becoming the first Italian women’s singles champion in Rome since Raffaella Reggi in 1985. Who’s your pick in this mega duel in Rome?