Serena Williams Isn't Sure She'll Ever Play Coco Gauff: 'Let Me Ask My Knees' (Exclusive)

Williams tells PEOPLE that she has shifted into her ventures off the tennis court and being "the best mom"

Serena Williams Coco Gauff
(L-R) Serena Williams, Coco Gauff. Photo:

Getty(2)

A match between Serena Williams and Coco Gauff may forever live in the dreams of tennis fans.

While speaking to PEOPLE at the 2024 Tribeca Festival premiere of her docuseries, In the Arena: Serena Williams, the 42-year-old tennis legend confessed that she doesn't know if she will ever play against Gauff.

"I mean, let me ask my knees?" she quips at the Thursday, June 13 event.

The retired athlete says that while her "competitive craving" still exists, she's focused on her outside ventures — including being a parent to daughters Adira, born in August 2023, and Olympia, 6½, with her husband, Alexis Ohanian.

Serena Williams at the 'In the Arena: Serena Williams' World Premiere as part of Tribeca Film Festival held at the OKX Theater on June 13, 2024 in New York City.
Serena Williams at the 'In the Arena: Serena Williams' premiere.

Steve Eichner/Variety via Getty

"I have to be the best mom. I have to go to all of Olympia's things at her school," she says.

While speaking with PEOPLE for the 50th Anniversary cover story, the 23-time Grand Slam champion revealed that she's slowly been able to reflect on her illustrious career with Olympia.

“I told her the other day that she actually was in my belly when I won a big tournament [the 2017 Australian Open], and she was surprised,” she said. "She's at an age now where I can kind of open up to her a little bit more and she can understand things more, whereas she didn't really understand before."

Serena Williams at the SEO Scholars Miami Launch Party at Klaw Miami on April 25, 2024
Serena Williams at the SEO Scholars Miami Launch Party at Klaw Miami on April 25, 2024.

Serena Williams attends the SEO Scholars Miami Launch Party at Klaw Miami on April 25, 2024 in Miami, Florida. 

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Although Williams has geared her focus off the court, Gauff, 20, has said she is someone she "looks up to" and considers a dream opponent.

"She’s my idol," Gauff told ESPN in September 2023. "The only regret I’ll have for the rest of my life is not being able to play her. There were so many tournaments where if we won an extra round and didn’t lose, I would’ve played her. But I’m still happy to just be a product of her legacy and be out here for American tennis."

US Coco Gauff plays a backhand return to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles semi final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day twelve of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 6, 2024.
Coco Gauff playing at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 6, 2024.

ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty

The young athlete, who won her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open, added that Williams is "GOAT."

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"She’s the GOAT. I’d hope to do half of what she did. But I’m not gonna compare myself to her," said Gauff.

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