Sneaker head Coco Gauff gushes over brand new custom CG1s

WTA Tour

James Richardson
March 6, 2023

Coco Gauff has gushed over the latest edition to her customized shoe range from New Balance.

The creators of the Coco CG1 “Neon Lights” drew inspiration from pineapples, roses, and dragonflies in designing the colourful new tennis shoe.

Gauff was a big fan, and she was not alone as fans were thrilled at the prospect of getting their hands on (feet in) a pair.

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The tennis prodigy and sneakerhead is well match with a design on this occassion and reflects her sense of style well.

Not all tennis shoes can appeal to the dyed-in-the-wool sneakerheads but the Coco CG1 “Neon Lights” wouldn’t be out of place in a collection or out of the court.

Make no mistake, this is a premium performance tennis shoe with all the funkiness of a sneaker and you can see why Gauff is excited for the launch.

She took to social media to share the release announcement this week.

“Yuhhhhhh, new colorway,” she captioned the story on Instagram.

She recently revealed that the shoes were designed by her little brother Cameron.

“We always poke fun that Cameron is the favorite because he’s the youngest.

“But no, he just goes on his own path. He’s a true youngest sibling.

“For every Christmas, he would ask for something art related,” she told People.

“Now, on my door in my room, I have one of his drawings up there.

After being given a New Balance ‘how to make a sneaker’ book the younger Gauff shared his designs and the company turned them into their first kids performance tennis shoe.

Gauff is back in the United States after wrapping up her middle east swing with a run to the Dubai Tennis Championships semi-finals where she lost to eventual champion Iga Swiatek.

She has been earmarked as a future star of the game but she admits that can sometimes put the squeeze on her.

“Definitely it puts pressure on you. I never label myself that. I always said I just want to be the best that I can be. It definitely adds pressure to it, especially when you have these losses, people say things about you, the rest of your life,” she said in Dubai.

She feels that she plays her best tennis when she is relaxed but the life of a tour professional doesn’t foster a serene state of mind.

“I try to meditate. I’ll be honest, I’m terrible (smiling). It’s something that I’m trying to incorporate more. It’s not even a weekly routine at this point. It’s like monthly, biweekly. I’m trying to do better.

“I think it just comes from experiences. I know I don’t play my best tennis when I’m not relaxed.

“Also I feel like now playing on tour, like, I didn’t play as many junior tournaments as the average junior player did. Like, when I lost, I knew I had three or four weeks before I would play another tournament, where I feel like with the tour, it feels almost a little bit better knowing you have another chance maybe next week or two weeks later.

“That’s something that I think has also helped that kind of feeling, knowing that you have another shot next week.

“Especially when I was playing in juniors, I would really play the Grade 1’s before the slams, then the slams.

“Every kind of match mattered, which it does in this structure obviously. I just felt like losing, I would dwell on that loss for weeks, whereas the tour forces you to dwell on that loss for a day, then you have to get back to it.”

Gauff will next be in action at Indian Wells in the coming two weeks.

Coco Gauff