The ITF's Katrina Adams stays on the front lines for women with the Tory Burch Foundation Sports Fellowship

In a surprise announcement for the women's doubles draw, Coco Gauff and Venus Williams will be playing together in Paris; the two competitors have 23 years of experience separating them. The 17-year-old has beaten the 40-year-old twice in Grand Slams: once at Wimbledon in 2019 where Gauff made her name known and at the Australian Open in 2020.

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Coco Gauff’s Roland Garros prep couldn’t have gone much better.

Now, with the announcement that she'll play doubles with Venus Williams, her Roland Garros matches couldn't be more exciting.

Take a closer look at @CocoGauff's clay goals with @NBTennis: https://t.co/Jn2j1kvPyE
— TENNIS (@Tennis) May 30, 2021

Many see the teenager as the successor to the Williams' sister legacy; Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles titles and 14 doubles Slam titles with her sister, Serena. The last time Venus was spotted on the doubles court was back in 2019 when she partner with Harriet Dart at the WTA 250 event in Strasbourg, France.

Coco Gauff and Venus Williams are teaming up in doubles at the French Open 🙌 pic.twitter.com/mVoaUuj2wV
— espnW (@espnW) May 30, 2021

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Gauff and Williams will play their first match together against the 13th-seeds Ellen Perez and Zheng Saisai.

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