Coco Gauff’s milestone 21st birthday came this week not only with a toast of champagne (maybe), but with the launch of her latest signature sneaker with New Balance.
The world No. 3 had previously teased the launch of the shoe during the BNP Paribas Open, telling Prakash Amritraj and Steve Weismann on the Tennis Channel desk to “keep your eyes out” for something that “may or may not be coming out later.” That, as it turned out, is the new Coco Delray, which dropped in conjunction with Gauff’s special day on Thursday.
While similar to Gauff’s high-performance Coco CG2 in design with its vintage basketball and tennis influences, and with her signature imprinted on the tongue, the Coco Delray differs in that it is aimed for more casual play and off-court wear. The shoe is a low-top model, and the brand touts the Coco Delray as “engineered for any match on any surface, from your local park to competitive play.”
Photos: Happy 21st birthday Coco Gauff, captain of ‘Tennis Channel Airlines’
Launching initially in two colorways—white with navy, and off-white (dubbed Parchment by New Balance) with aqua and navy accents—the Coco Delray represents Gauff’s desire to make tennis more equitable by providing state-of-the-art footwear for players of all skill levels. To this aim, the shoe launched with a new campaign celebrating tennis as more than just a sport, narrated by Gauff’s grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom, who was the first Black student to attend public school in Gauff’s hometown of Delray Beach.
