2019 has been a break out year for American tennis player Coco Gauff. The 15-year-old rose to fame after her sensational run at this year’s Wimbledon. Since the tournament, she has caught the attention of tennis fans and pundits who have followed her every appearance during the WTA tour. The 15-year-old has not disappointed. She won the first singles title of her career this past weekend.
Coco winning her 1st title at 15 years of age
"So just relax — you're not gonna sprint to the finish line, we're gonna walk to the finish line, okay?
Just take your mind to another place right now.
You envision right where you wanna be.
Yesterday if you knew you'd have 5-2, you would take that." pic.twitter.com/WZZU8Lfc9O
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) October 13, 2019
Gauff won the 2019 Linz Open on Sunday, beating 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko in the final. The 15-year-old had lost in qualifying for the tournament. She, however, received a second chance to play at the tournament after Maria Sakkari withdrew due to injury. Cori played as a lucky loser and made it all the way to the final to clinch her maiden WTA singles title. Her most notable victory at the tournament came against Kiki Bertens in the quarterfinal. She had not beaten an opponent ranked in the top ten. At 15 years of age,her victory in Austria makes her the youngest player to win a WTA singles title since Nicole Vaidisova. Nicole won the Vancouver WTA title in 2004.
In Austria, Gauff won the tournament as her parents watched on. Her father, Corey, is also her coach. Her parents are former professional athletes. Her mother, Candi, ran hurdles in college while her father was a basketball player. Corey says he tries to strike a balance between being a coach and father to his daughter. In the final on Sunday, the American was leading Ostapenko in the last set of the match 5-0. She, however, panicked and gave up easy points. At 5-2, she called for her father during a changeover. Corey gave his daughter a pep talk. He told her to stay calm and instructed her to target her opponent’s backhand shot. The advice worked and Gauff closed out the set to win the match.
Coco’s breathrough in Wimbledon
After her latest victory, players will now take notice of Gauff as a credible threat at any tournament. She will break into the top 100 for the first time in her career. This year has been an incredible roller coaster for the 15-year-old. She captured the world’s attention at Wimbledon. The American made it to the round of 16 after qualifying as a wild card. She defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the first round in a stunning upset.
Cori Gauff’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.110, Gauff played her last match on the 13th of October when she defeated Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 1-6 6-2 in the final in Linz to win her 1st career title.
This year Cori has a 18-7 win-loss record. The American conquered 1 title in Linz.
Cori Gauff |
| Embed from Getty Images |
