Florida Roots, French Glory: Coco Gauff's Journey

For longtime Florida tennis figure and media voice Dave “Koz” Kozlowski, some moments just stay with you. One of them was an interview with a 13-year-old phenom named Coco Gauff during the finals of Rendez Vous a Roland Garros 2017 at Boca West Country Club. “It was a memorable experience,” said Kozlowski. “To interview and become friends with Coco Gauff during the finals of the celebration—it stuck with me.” 

Kozlowski, a USTA National Broadcast Media Award winner and one of the first 17 Master Tennis Professionals in the world for the Racquet Sports Professional Association, saw the future of American tennis in that moment.

Photo credit: Valentin Delbeke, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Coco, already showing signs of composure beyond her years, was thrilled. “I feel really ecstatic,” she told Koz. “I really love the crowd in the facility. And I thought that I just had advantage cause this is in my own backyard. So I really, really love Boca West.”

That sense of home-court confidence showed. Even with the pressure of playing in front of a crowd, Coco embraced the spotlight. “It was really amazing to see,” she said. “When I walked in on the first day, I was really overwhelmed and I thought I was gonna get nervous playing in front of the crowd. But really I wasn’t nervous. I was more comfortable playing with the crowd, and that really helped me pull out the win.”

As Koz watched her performance that day, it was clear she wasn’t like most juniors. With national and international junior circuits behind her—like the Maureen Connolly Tennis Association’s Little Mo International Championship—Gauff was already building toward a bigger stage. “Along with the Maureen Connolly Tennis Association and its Little Mo International Championship Circuit,” Koz said, “that French Open qualifier win helped pave the path to her professional career.” 

Photo credit: Remi Mathis, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

“You’re 13 years old,” he joked during that original interview. “You have no rights winning some of these events.” But even then, Coco wasn’t surprised by her own performance. This interview came full circle in 2025, when Gauff—now ranked No. 2 in the world—won the French Open, lifting her first Grand Slam singles trophy on the red clay of Roland Garros.

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Written by Florida Tennis Assistant Editor Alex Binstok. Top photo credit: Valentin Delbeke, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0