Like a cloudburst Coco Gauff created a deluge that swept away the opposition. Players who were far more experienced than her were washed away by the flood at the US Open Tennis Championship of 2023. The event ended in a blaze of glory for Coco Gauff, the 19-year-old newcomer who toppled the second seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
The world is now agog and her unusual name is on everyone’s lips. “Coco, Coco,” her fans chanted as she waved and smiled at them. Her real name is Cori Dionne Gauff but she is called Coco by everyone. Ever since she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old four years ago, her tremendous mental fortitude and emotional maturity marked her out as a player with great potential.
She is a fan of Serena Williams and the question that many fans are asking is whether she will be able to emulate her idol. Coco has become the third American teenager to win the US Open title. In this respect she has followed in the footsteps of Serena Williams who won for the first time in 1999. Coco has won 12 matches in succession in a truly remarkable run of victories.
Mature beyond her years
She is not the strongest player on the courts but she knows how to maximize her resources against stronger rivals. In her game she displays the wisdom one would expect from a veteran player.
The way in which she responded to the questions that were hurled at her during the press conference after her victory, showed that she has a very mature head on her young shoulders. She admitted that the Williams sisters and her parents were her greatest inspirations. “Serena and Venus are the ones who made me believe that I too could do it,” she told the media.
Coco’s strong forehand shots and placements held off the pressure from her rival Sabalenka. The latter is a six-foot tall player from Belarus. Sabalenka is 25 years old and had the confidence of having won the Australian Open in January 2023. But despite all her advantages, it was Sabalenka who began to wilt while Coco stood firm and steady like a rock.
Adverse comments roused her fire
Before the match there were many pundits and former players who doubted that Coco could win against the tall and sturdy Sabalenka. But those negative comments only spurred Coco to play even better and prove those people wrong. Analysing herself, Coco said: “I am a very stubborn person. Ask my parents. They will confirm it. If they tell me to do one thing, I will do another. When I read the comments made by several experts that I cannot win today, that really put the fire into me.”
Coco Gauff was born in Atlanta on March 13, 2004. Both her parents have a sports background. Her father played college basketball at Georgia State University and her mother was a track athlete at Florida State University. Coco’s early years were spent in Atlanta. She began playing tennis at the age of six. Having parents who played sports was an advantage since they knew how to plan her career. It is important to understand which tournaments a budding player should play and which ones are not worth playing in. Their planning worked and today Coco is a Grand Slam winner.
How far she will go depends on her own skills, temperament, and fitness. Former player Alex Corretja who has played in all Grand slam tournaments has very high expectations from Coco. “The rise of Coco Gauff is good for tennis. She is emotionally balanced, has good manners and is a role model. She has great potential. I am sure she will win many more titles in future,” said Corretja.
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