Who is Coco Gauff? Age, net worth and mental health struggles of Australian open semi-finalist

Coco Gauff will take to the court on Thursday as she attempts to book a place in the final of the 2024 Australian open. The American lost her first set of the tournament in Tuesday's quarter-final win over Ukrainian Marta Kostyk but won by two sets to one.

Gauff will now play the competition's second seed, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, in the first semi-final and the winner is widely expected to go all the way. Below, NationalWorld has taken a look at the American's rise from breakout star to world-beater.

What is Coco Gauff's age?

Despite seemingly being on the tennis scene for ages, Gauff is still only 19-years-old. That feeling is partly due to the young age at which the American burst into the eyes of the tennis world.

Gauff made her ITF Women's debut in May 2018, aged just 14, and beat Moldovan Alexandra Perper. The youngster then stunned the tennis world a year later, taking to the No.1 court at Wimbledon and beating the legendary Venus Williams in straight sets.

Who is Coco Gauff's family?

Gauff comes from a sporty family, which should come as no surprise given her natural ability on the court. Dad Corey used to play basketball at Georgia State University while mum Candi competed in track and field at Florida State University. The teenager also has two brothers, Codey and Cameron who are both younger than her.

What is Coco Gauff's net worth?

Gauff's net worth is a whopping £17.1million according to Forbes, more than half of which has come from sponsors and endorsements with companies such as New Balance, racket manufacturer Head and Rolex. She has earned £5.2m prize money during her young career.

What has Coco Gauff won?

Gauff has won seven WTA Tour singles titles, the most notable being her first major win at the 2023 US Open where she beat Thursday's semi-final opponent, Sabalenka.

Mental health struggles

Despite the endless success so early in her career, things haven't always been easy for Gauff who has been open about her mental health struggles. The teenager was thought to have almost quit tennis after losing the enjoyment of playing amid intensifying expectations.

In a post for the tennis series 'Behind The Racquet', she said: "Throughout my life, I was always the youngest to do things, which added hype that I didn’t want.

“It added this pressure that I needed to do well fast. Once I let that all go, that’s when I started to have the results I wanted. Going back to around 2017-18, I was struggling to figure out if this was really what I wanted. I always had the results, so that wasn’t the issue. I just found myself not enjoying what I loved.

“I realised I needed to start playing for myself and not other people. For about a year I was really depressed. That was the toughest year for me so far.”