Mark Petchey, a former British tennis player, has defended his daring remark that Coco Gauff is the greatest player in women’s tennis history.
Gauff had an outstanding North American tour, winning her first WTA 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open, her first WTA 500 trophy at the Citi Open, and her first Grand Slam title at the US Open.
The 19-year-old’s recent accomplishments were praised by Mark Petchey in an edition of a podcast. He suggested that winning her maiden Major titles would let her play more freely and pose a serious threat to her rivals.
The British also praised Coco Gauff as the greatest female tennis player ever, placing her ahead of Steffi Graf, a 22-time Grand Slam winner. Tim Mayotte, a former American tennis player, responded to Petchey’s remarks on social media and said it was early to assign the teenager such a title.
Mayotte Tweeted: “Yikes! Guys! Please! It’s a bit early. If she lost at the Open.”
Petchey stood by his statement and said that a player’s Grand Slam success should not be a factor in determining who is considered to be the finest female athlete.
Petchey posted: “Tim, I love your opinions about tennis firstly and because of that I wanted to reply. I was making the observation I believe Coco is the best female athlete I have ever seen. What does winning Majors have to do with that?”
Petchey concluded by stating his continued opposition to applying Grand Slam victories to rank players. Additionally, he stated that Coco Gauff’s victory at the US Open should support her claim to be the best female athlete of all time.
He further added: “I don’t believe the metric for best ever athlete should be Majors. However, as you are someone who believes in technique as much as I do, isn’t the fact Coco won the US Open with a forehand, most agree is suboptimal in terms of technique, further testament to the argument she could be the best tennis female athlete ever?”
"I don't think we've seen a better athlete in women's tennis."
Is @CocoGauff the best athlete in the history of the WTA? @_markpetchey thinks so.
Here's why ➡️ https://t.co/5dzOS4vZm5 pic.twitter.com/SPMr9UirVl
— TENNIS (@Tennis) September 28, 2023
Gauff in Beijing, ranking, and results in 2023
WWLWWLWWWW Currently ranked no.3 (career-high), Gauff achieved an overall 46-13 match record in 2023. Gauff is currently playing in Beijing where she conquered the world no.20 Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5 6-3.
Coco Gauff will come up against the world no.48 Petra Martic in the 2nd round. Their actual head to head record is 1-0 for Gauff.
The American has won 4 titles in 2023 in Auckland, Washington, Cincinnati and U.S. Open.
Gauff won 6 titles in her career: 4 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Coco Gauff |
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