Coco Gauff loves styling her natural hair, on and off the court

Coco Gauff prides herself on being able to pull off a variety of hairstyles, and ahead of the BNP Paribas Open, the 20-year-old pulled back her braids the curtain on how she manages natural hair as a professional athlete.

"I get a lot of talk about it in the locker room about how I change a lot," she said in her pre-tournament press conference at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Wednesday. "I think hair is so versatile, especially Black hair, can be so versatile. ... I love to play with colors, with textures, I love curls, I love it all."

One of the brands in the world No. 3's sponsor portfolio, valued at $34.4 million in 2024 according to *Forbes*, has been helping her explore her creative side. In April of last year, Gauff signed on as an ambassador for the natural hair-care pioneer Carol's Daughter, with the American already a big fan of its .

"I'm excited to help continue their mission of empowering millions of women and little girls to embrace their curls and coils with pride and authenticity," she said at the time, and in the year since, Gauff is living that mantra, whether on the court or on the red carpet.

No stranger to debuting new looks mid-season, Gauff was in the Carol's Daughter styling chair before her season debut at the United Cup, and her braided looked pitch-perfect off-court, too, when she attended the Oscars last weekend.

The three hairstyles she wore on the red carpet and at the Vanity Fair afterparty all originated from the same braids, as she was styled by celebrity hairstylist Dhairius Thomas, also a Carol’s Daughter brand ambassador.

Read more: Coco Gauff dazzles in yellow on Oscars red carpet

"I think that's just something that's fun about hair," she said.

"Partnering with Carol's Daughter has been such an ease, because they actually help me experiment with more styles," she continued.

"I have always used Carol's Daughter since I was young, so it was cool to be able to be in partnership with a brand that I already know and love," she said. "I'm very thankful for them. They helped style my hair alongside Dhairius for the Oscars and Vanity Fair.

"So basically every hairstyle that I have done, pretty much Carol's Daughter has been behind it over the course of the last year."