Coco Vandeweghe

Colleen “Coco” Vandeweghe, born on December 6, 1991, in New York City, U.S., became a professional tennis player in 2008. She is the daughter of 1976 Olympic swimmer Tauna Vandeweghe and Robert Mullarkey. Her maternal grandparents include 1952 Miss America Colleen Kay Hutchins and former New York Knicks basketball player Ernie Vandeweghe. Her uncle is basketball player Kiki VanDeWeghe. Vandeweghe began playing tennis at age eleven with her older brother, Beau, having previously explored other sports like basketball and wrestling. She spent much of her off-season on the beach in California, describing herself as a “total California girl.” She established herself as a formidable presence on the court, known for her powerful serve and aggressive playing style, often taking the ball early and on the rise. Her preferred surfaces were hard and grass courts, where her forehand down the line was a particular strength.

Vandeweghe’s career included significant milestones, such as winning two WTA Tour titles at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships. In 2018, she secured a Grand Slam title in women’s doubles at the US Open with partner Ashleigh Barty. Her singles career saw her reach two major semifinals, including at the 2017 Australian Open and 2017 US Open, culminating in a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9 in January 2018. She also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2015 and 2017. In doubles, she partnered with Martina Hingis in 2016, reaching the US Open semifinals and achieving a career-high doubles ranking of No. 18. Her mixed doubles career saw her reach Grand Slam finals at the 2016 Australian Open with Horia Tecău and the 2016 US Open with Rajeev Ram.

A key achievement was leading the U.S. team to its first Fed Cup championship since 2000 in 2017, winning all eight of her rubbers. After battling an ankle injury that kept her out for much of 2019, Vandeweghe returned to compete before announcing her retirement from professional tennis in August 2023, with the 2023 San Diego Open marking her final tournament. Throughout her career, she also played ten seasons with World TeamTennis, where she was named MVP of the 2020 WTT Finals with the New York Empires.