Coco Gauff isn’t just a tennis prodigy—she’s the product of a family that bet everything on her dreams. Behind every blistering forehand and Grand Slam victory are her parents, Corey and Candi Gauff, two former athletes who rewrote their lives to fuel their daughter’s rise. From their athletic roots to their financial gambles, their story is as gripping as Coco’s matches. Let’s peel back the layers of their journey, from Delray Beach to the world stage.
The Athletic Blueprint: How Corey and Candi Built a Champion
Coco’s parents didn’t just pass down genes—they handed her a mindset. Corey, a former Georgia State University basketball player, and Candi, a Florida State track-and-field star (whose heptathlon records still stand), were no strangers to discipline. Candi was a five-time high school state champion, while Corey’s hoops career taught him the grind of high-level sports. When Coco, at just five years old, declared she wanted to be the “GOAT” after watching Serena Williams, they didn’t laugh—they got to work.
Their home life became a training camp. Corey, with zero tennis experience, devoured coaching manuals and studied the Williams sisters’ playbooks. He turned living-room couches into makeshift nets during rainstorms and quit his healthcare job to coach Coco full-time. Candi, a former educator, left her teaching career to homeschool Coco, ensuring her schedule revolved around tournaments. The family even moved in with Candi’s parents in Delray Beach, Florida, to save money—swapping stability for a moonshot gamble on their daughter’s talent.
The Gauffs’ nationality? Proudly American, with deep roots in Florida. Corey and Candi were both born in the U.S. (Corey in 1971, Candi in 1970, making them 53 and 54 as of 2025). Their ethnicity—African American—played a role in how they navigated tennis, a sport historically lacking diversity. Candi’s mother, Yvonne Odom, broke barriers as the first Black student to integrate her Florida high school in 1961, a legacy Coco honors by speaking out on social justice.
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The Gauff Family Today: Net Worth, Homes, and Unbreakable Bonds
Fast-forward to 2025, and the Gauffs’ sacrifices have paid off—literally. Coco Gauff’s net worth is estimated at $27 million, thanks to prize money and deals with New Balance, Barilla, and Microsoft. While her parents’ exact net worth isn’t public, their Delray Beach home (purchased after years of crashing with relatives) is a far cry from their “no-income family” days. The house sits near Pompey Park, where Coco trained as a kid and where her grandfather, “Red” Odom, founded a baseball league for Black youth.
Divorce rumors? Zero. Corey and Candi, married since 2001, are still going strong. Their secret? Division of labor. Corey handles scouting reports and on-court pep talks; Candi is the “Switzerland” mediator when father-daughter tennis tensions flare. They’ve even recreated their first-date restaurant visits to keep the spark alive. As for separation—only physical, when Corey paces stadium hallways during Coco’s matches to calm his nerves.
Their origin story is pure hustle. Corey’s basketball dreams fizzled post-college, leading him to healthcare; Candi’s track career morphed into teaching. But their athletic instincts never left. They spotted Coco’s freakish potential early—like when she sprinted endlessly at age three, or when she, at eight, dominated the “Little Mo” nationals. Today, they’re fixtures in her player box, though Corey’s emotional reactions (grimacing at losses, leaping at wins) once annoyed Coco so much she banished him to alternate seats.
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The Gauffs’ legacy? More than trophies. It’s proving that champions aren’t just born—they’re built by parents willing to risk it all. As Candi told TIME, “We wouldn’t put anything on her that hasn’t been done already.” And with Coco Gauff now a US Open champ and Olympic flag bearer, it’s clear: the Gauffs didn’t just raise a star—they rewrote the playbook on how to get there.
