Coco Gauff on Serena Williams' iconic Wimbledon outfits: 'She's the original'

No.2 seed Coco Gauff has been in strong form through the first two rounds of Wimbledon, dropping just six games in four sets played. But Gauff's game isn't all that's been making headlines for the American on-court at the All England Club: Her New Balance kit at this year's Championships—which features a striking cutout at the mid-back and two at the hips—and the honey-blonde braids she's debuted in her hair, has had fans on social media recalling similar looks worn by Serena Williams at SW19 in the past (including the Nike dress that the former world No. 1 wore in 2019, in the year she reached her last Wimbledon final).

But on Wednesday, Gauff wanted to set the record straight: Her look isn't a copy of the 23-time Grand Slam winner, though she welcomes the comparisons as she continues to add pages to her own look book

"I think that Serena has just done every iconic dress 'fit in the game that unintentionally you can have something inspired by her," Gauff said after a 6-2, 6-1 win over Romania's Anca Todoni on No. 1 Court. "It was similar to my Australian Open outfit this year. Some people thought it was inspired by her, which it wasn't."

Read more: Coco Gauff’s new Australian Open kit is giving fans 'Serena vibes'

"I feel like Serena is such an icon that everybody can have inspiration from her, like she's the original," Gauff continued. "I take it as an acknowledgment. I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and be like, 'Yeah, we took this picture and we wanted to do that.'

"But I will say that she's just done everything in tennis when it comes to style that at some point sometimes things just look similar because she's done it all."

Gauff told *People* magazine in an exclusive interview this week that her Grand Slam kits are planned a year or two in advance (and that her new hair is a tribute to singer Willow Smith). She gives input on the final styles she'll wear on court, but she's wholly credting the creative minds at New Balance with producing this year's SW19 kit.

Her only direction? "Play with cutouts," because, "there's not much you can do with the white," she said.

"I don't really ever design anything," Gauff added. "I don't draw it. I tell them what I want and then they put it into a nice way."

Gauff and her perfect 'fit (pun intended) will be back on court at Wimbledon on Friday when she faced British qualifier Sonay Kartal.