Coco Gauff is already one of the most exciting young players in tennis, but she’s just added another accomplishment to her sterling résumé: high school graduate.
Gauff has completed her coursework from the Florida Virtual Flex program and received her degree from the Florida Department of Education after taking home education classes for the past four years, splitting her time between school and her professional tennis career. She celebrated by taking photos in her cap and gown in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris — where she’s currently preparing for the French Open.
In a 2020 interview with Forbes, Gauff revealed how her globe-trotting career made for unique challenges to her studies.
“The time zones are tough when I have to do school,” Gauff said. “When I want to call my teachers, they’re sleeping. Everything else has been easy to adjust to.”
At the age of 14, Gauff made her WTA debut, and qualified that same year for the 2018 US Open. She came to international attention at Wimbledon in 2019 when, at age 15 and the youngest Wimbledon qualifier in the Open era, she defeated Venus Williams, then 39, in straight sets. Gauff made it to the fourth round, where she lost to eventual champion Simona Halep.
Gauff is currently No. 18 in the women’s tennis WTA rankings. She’ll face Canada’s Rebecca Marino in the first round of the French Open, which starts Sunday.