Maria Sharapova on Coco Gauff using her platform to make a difference: ‘I admire her a lot’

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Coco Gauff

Maria Sharapova has expressed her admiration for Coco Gauff, praising the teenager for “shaping the path of the generation to come”.

Tipped to be a star of the future from a young age, Gauff made her tennis breakthrough in 2019 with a brilliant run at Wimbledon before following it up with excellent displays at this year’s Australian Open.

However, it is not just on the court where the 16-year-old is having an impact as she was one of the most vocal voices in tennis when it came to Black Lives Matters protests in the United States the past few months.

Not only did she use her social media accounts to educate people, but she also delivered a passionate speech during a march in Delray Beach, Florida.

WATCH: Coco Gauff calls for change during powerful Black Lives Matter protest speech

In a wide-ranging interview with Telegraph Women’s Sport, Sharapova named Gauff “as the athlete to emulate her own success and become a teen champion”.

“I remember when I was 13 years old, Billie Jean King came up to me for the very first time,” the five-time Grand Slam champion said. “She said, ‘Whatever you do does not just shape your path, but it shapes the path of the generation to come’. At the time, [it] didn’t resonate. But I think Coco’s doing an incredible job of that – she’s using her platform to make a difference. I admire her a lot.”

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