Coco Gauff is a force. Honestly, if you've ever watched her slide across a clay court or hammer a serve down the T, you know she isn't just another player on the WTA Tour. But there's this weirdly specific question that keeps popping up in tennis circles and on social media: how tall is Coco Gauff, really?
People seem obsessed with her height. Maybe it’s because she looks like she’s six feet tall when she’s dominating the net. Or maybe it’s the way she carries herself next to legends like Serena Williams.
The Official Measurement: Getting the Numbers Right
So, let's just get the "official" part out of the way. According to the WTA and the major Grand Slam profiles—we’re talking Wimbledon, the US Open, and Roland-Garros—Coco Gauff stands at 5 feet 9 inches (that’s 1.75 meters for everyone using the metric system).
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Now, why does everyone think she's taller?
It’s basically down to her wingspan and her athleticism. She has long levers. In tennis, 5'9" is sort of the "sweet spot" for modern players. It’s tall enough to have a lethal serve but not so tall that you lose that lightning-fast lateral movement.
I’ve seen her in person, and she has this presence. She’s lean, muscular, and exceptionally fast. When she’s at full stretch, she covers so much ground that she feels like she's 6'1".
Why Her Height Matters on the Court
Tennis is a game of angles. If you’re taller, you have a higher contact point on your serve. This is basic physics. A higher contact point means you can hit the ball harder and still have it clear the net and land in the box.
Coco Gauff has used her 5'9" frame to build one of the most terrifying serves in the game. She’s already clocked serves at 128 mph (206 km/h). That’s faster than most of the players who are significantly taller than her.
The Serve Advantage
Most people assume you need to be a giant like Reilly Opelka or Venus Williams to serve big. Not necessarily. While a study published in Sports Biomechanics shows a strong correlation between height and serve speed, Gauff is an outlier. She uses her height perfectly.
- Leverage: Her long arms act like whips.
- Explosion: She has incredible leg drive, which adds "virtual height" to her contact point.
- Variety: Being 5'9" allows her to hit kick serves that taller players sometimes struggle to control.
Court Coverage
Here’s the thing. If you get too tall—say, over 6 feet—you often start to lose some of that "scrambling" ability. You see the taller players struggle to get low for short slices.
Gauff doesn't have that problem. She is arguably the best mover on the tour right now. She combines the reach of a tall player with the center of gravity of a sprinter. It’s a nightmare for her opponents because they think they’ve hit a winner, and then she’s just... there.
Comparing Gauff to Other Tennis Legends
It’s kinda cool to see where she fits in the history of the sport. Serena Williams, the GOAT, is also listed at 5'9".
It’s a height that has defined the modern "power-plus-speed" era. You look at someone like Iga Swiatek, who is around 5'9" as well, and you see a similar balance. They aren't "serve bots" who rely only on height, but they aren't small players who have to run twice as much to stay in the point.
Then you have the outliers.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gauff was the flagbearer for Team USA alongside LeBron James. There’s a hilarious photo of them together. LeBron is 6'9", so he made Coco look like a middle schooler. She even joked about being "concerned" about the height difference before the ceremony. It puts things into perspective; in the world of tennis, she’s a tall, rangy athlete. In the world of the NBA, she’s a point guard.
The Growth Factor
We also have to remember that Coco Gauff has been in the spotlight since she was 15. When she beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019, she was still growing.
A lot of the confusion about how tall is Coco Gauff comes from those early years. If you look at her stats from 2019 or 2020, some sites might have listed her at 5'7" or 5'8". Fans who haven't updated their mental "player card" might still think she’s shorter than she is. She’s 21 now (as of early 2026), and her physique has completely filled out. She’s a world-class athlete in her physical prime.
What This Means for Your Game
If you’re a tennis player or a coach, there’s a lot to learn from Gauff’s stature. You don't need to be 6'3" to have a world-class serve. It’s about how you use the height you have.
- Focus on the kinetic chain. Gauff’s serve speed comes from her legs and core, not just her height.
- Maximize your reach. Practice hitting the ball at the highest possible point of your toss.
- Value movement. Gauff’s height is only an advantage because she can still move like a track star.
Understanding the "why" behind her height helps you appreciate the technical skill involved in her game. She isn't just "tall and lucky." She’s an elite athlete who has optimized every inch of her 5'9" frame to become a Grand Slam champion.
If you’re tracking her stats for the upcoming season, keep an eye on her first-serve percentage. As she continues to refine her technique, that 5'9" height combined with her 120mph+ power is going to keep her at the top of the rankings for a long, long time.