Let the partying begin: Coco Gauff, 19, made tennis history this weekend, and now her hometown of Delray Beach is going to celebrate.
Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open final on Saturday, making her the first American teenager to win the country’s major tennis tournament since Serena Williams in 1999. Over the weekend Ryan Boylston, Delray Beach’s vice mayor, posted on Facebook: “Looks like we have a parade to plan. #cocogauff” along with an emoji of a tennis ball.
That post got the attention of City Hall staff and kickstarted the internal planning and discussions Monday morning, Boylston said.
“In Delray Beach we have a long history of celebrating our own,” he explained.
The details aren’t finalized, including whether it will be a parade, festival or some other type of event, and the date isn’t close to being set. Gauff is presumably probably pretty busy. “We don’t want to celebrate without her,” Boylston said.
Like other cities, Delray Beach often highlights the accomplishments of its local residents. And it might just be a family affair: Last month for back-to-school, the city honored Yvonne Lee, now Yvonne Odom, the first Black student to attend Delray Beach’s all-white Seacrest High School. The year was 1961. And Odom is Gauff’s grandmother.
The celebration details will be ironed out as soon as possible, said city spokeswoman Gina Carter.
“The city is so excited and so proud,” she said.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash
