Tag Gauff is remarkable

Tennis prodigy Cori Gauff shows why role models still matter

One of the most embarrassing things that ever happened to me played out in Wimbledon. Venus and Serena Williams were renting a house on the road where I grew up. Like me, they were barely out of their teens – Venus had just turned 20 – but while I had just finished my A-levels, they were busy tearing up 120 years of tennis history. That was the first year Venus won Wimbledon, which prompted my mum to insist on baking a cake, frogmarching our whole family up to the road, and handing it over to the bemused Williams sisters, declaring that as the mother of two black girls, she knew exactly how they felt. I was mortified, but in hindsight I rate my mum for this. She looked at the Williamses and saw role models for her own daughters. And she was right. The arrival of Venus and Serena had a profound impact on me and my sense of self. Their skill was so exceptional, even in an environment that proved repeatedly hostile – becoming the best athlete of her generation didn’t stop the press trolling Serena. They literally changed the game. But what really…

Read MoreTennis prodigy Cori Gauff shows why role models still matter