Coco Gauff is hanging with some pretty heady company in the nation’s capital. The 15-year-old got to meet her idol Michelle Obama this week, and exchanged a signed tennis racquet for a signed copy of the former First Lady’s book.
“Today I got to meet my idol @michelleobama,” wrote Gauff on Instagram. “Her words and wisdom on my journey will stay with me on the court over the course of my career. She is a true inspiration. I have never arrived, I am always becoming! Thank you for your time.”
Obama took to Instagram to say a few words about Gauff as well.
“This afternoon, I was thrilled to visit with @CocoGauff,” she wrote. “When we talk about the potential of our young people, we often think about it as some far-off promise, years or decades away. But the truth is they have so much to offer us right now—something we all saw a few weeks ago at Wimbledon. Coco is a wonderful young woman who’s showing us that we don’t have to wait to see what the next generation can do.”