Coco Gauff has claimed it is “inspiring” to see Kamala Harris running to be the next President of the USA. The US Open champion, who is still only 20, has spoken in support of Black Lives Matter and gun control.

And now the world No.3 is delighted to see the current vice-president, who is the daughter of Indian and Jamaican parents, running to be the first female leader of her country.

“I think it is really incredible,” said Gauff. “You know, no matter who you’re voting for, who you stand for, it is really incredible to see how far this country has come and people of colour, Black people in general.

“It’s really inspiring to see someone on that ballot. Yeah, honestly it takes the works of many others to pave the way. Yeah, I’m excited that I’m able to see this in my lifetime, because I know many others didn’t get that chance to.”

Gauff said she briefly spoke to Harris last year when the vice president congratulated her for winning the US Open. “What I would ask her is maybe just her story, personal story growing up and how she got to this point in her life,” she added.

“Obviously I know just from watching, like, you know, her speeches and learning about her story, but I guess from a more personal perspective, because I know her mother was an immigrant. I think anybody, really, it’s kind of crazy to see how a person can be, like, one of us and then become the president of the United States or vice president of the United States.

“I think I would ask her just her story and, you know, what were the stepping stones to that point, because I think at one point almost every kid said they were going to be the next president of the United States. So it would be cool to hear her story from her perspective and I guess not on the news and stuff.”

Asked if she thought she would be the President of the USA, Gauff laughed: “I never, like, wrote it because I knew I always wanted to be a tennis player. I don’t know if any of you heard of like the kid president, you’re like, I want to be like him. Yeah, I’m sure there was a thought in my head at that age that I would be the next president or the Queen of England or something crazy like that. Then you get older and you realise reality is not like that.”

Instead Gauff made her Wimbledon debut at 15 – and then became the first American teenager to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999. She also carried the Stars and Stripes at the Olympics for the USA team last month.

But she claimed her life has not changed by being a Grand Slam champion. “Not really, because I feel like I was in a crazy position last year where there was a lot surrounding me, like, before this, even before I was a Grand Slam champion,” she said.

“So, you know, I had basically the same busy pre-week this week as I had last year pre-week of US Open.

So I think that’s where it was a little bit easier coming into all of this as a Grand Slam champion because of, like, the gradual rise I’ve had in this sport when it came to the amount of attention I was getting.

“Honestly, this week hasn’t been much different, other than people saying I’m the defending champion, but other than that, I feel like it’s been the same amount of attention and same amount of sponsor commitments and all that.”