Coco Gauff: The rise of the American teenager to Grand Slam glory at the US Open

It was an American dream come true as Coco Gauff became the first American teenager to win at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.

Already renowned for a level of maturity rarely seen for someone so young, Gauff delivered one of the most winning speeches in New York last month following her victory over Aryna Sabalenka – silencing doubters who said a Grand Slam title would never come.

“I tried my best to carry this with grace and I did my best so honestly, for those who thought you were throwing water on my fire, you’re really adding gas to it. And now I “I’m really burning so hot right now,” the 19-year-old said.

During her preparation, she won a WTA 500 level title in Washington – which she accompanied with a prestigious WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati – often the last stop for elite players, before a week of training. point in Flushing Meadows.

Despite the success, some felt the need to tell him that everything was going to be as good as possible on social media platforms.

In truth, it almost was. His journey to winning the title was complicated to say the least.

Twice, before the second week, Gauff was forced to show all her combativeness to come out of a set and progress in the last major of the season.

In the final, Australian Open champion Sabalenka dominated the court in the first set, leaving Gauff to have to solve the riddle before rallying to carve out a little piece of history.

Wind the clock back four years and the prolific former junior world number 1 was handed a wildcard into Wimbledon qualifying.

She put it to good use, becoming the youngest player to advance to the main draw via qualification.

As the sun was setting on the Williams sisters’ careers, Gauff, then 15, caused a huge shock by beating five-time Wimbledon champion Venus in the first round.

The growing hype saw her then upset Magdalena Rybarikova before defeating Polona Hercog in three sets. Her bubble was finally burst at the hands of eventual champion, Simona Halep.

She followed that up with a run to the third round of the US Open, losing to Naomi Osaka, but was asked to share the post-match mic with her.

Her first title followed later that year in Linz, where she had lost in the qualifying rounds, before being awarded a place in the main draw as a lucky loser.

The challenge for players climbing the ranks so strongly is achieving results on the WTA Tour, but no one could have predicted a global pandemic, which would end all momentum.

Gauff, now just 16, used her voice on social media to urge people to vote and speak out against racism in an emotional speech at a protest in her hometown of Delray Beach, Florida.

The maturity she already demonstrated at that time would serve her well. Now the players were getting the measure of the hard-hitting teenager. His forehand had a tendency to collapse and could be exploited as a weakness by more experienced players.

As the world emerged from the pandemic, his Grand Slam progress continued with a quarterfinal at Roland Garros and another run to the fourth round at Wimbledon.

It was her run to the French Open final in 2022 that had players wondering just how good she could become. Although she was beaten in two sets by Iga Swiatek, Gauff had demonstrated that she belonged with the best.

She managed to give the home fans something to cheer about at the end of the year by reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open for the first time.

Looking at his Grand Slam results this year, Wimbledon has arguably been his only disappointment. Gauff reached the fourth round again in Melbourne and the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and then, of course, the rest is history.

What’s next for Gauff?

She made her WTA Finals debut last year but failed to make it out of the round robin group stages, but this time around, bigger things will be expected from her.

No matter what 2024 has in store for him, Gauff has nothing to prove on or off the field.

A young woman with a sense of social responsibility, recognizing the good she can do with her platform, a healthy dose of “doubt me at your own risk” sprinkled with talent that could see her become one of great football stars.

Can she continue to emulate a career similar to that of her idols? Expect her to win several Grand Slams and she won’t even turn 20 until next March.

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