After winning her first Grand Slam event just over three months ago, Coco Gauff may be quite satisfied with the direction her tennis career is taking.
The 19-year-old is the defending champion and primary drawcard after winning the US Open to cap off a season that began with victory at the 2023 ASB Classic. Though it’s reasonable to assume that Gauff is driving the comeback of American tennis at this point, she doesn’t like to be associated with that title.
She said the day before the start of the 2024 tournament: “Like public publicity wise and ranking wise, technically I’m at the front, but all my counterparts are older than me, so I don’t feel like that. So, I don’t feel like I’m leading them in any way. Maybe for you guys (the media), it feels like that. But for us, or at least for me, I feel like I’m just focusing on me. I’m not trying to lead anyone. If anything, I’m learning from them.”
Gauff acknowledges that her historic victory at Flushing Meadows significantly changed the situation. She added: “I get more recognition, but I just feel like for me as a person, that helped me prove that all the growth I’m doing leads to results. You’re not going to win all the time. But there is a moment when you’re going to reach that goal. So, I think (the US Open win) was just a statement of all the work that I put in, and I think I deserved it.”
Coco Gauff in 2024
WWWLLWLWWL Now the world no.3 (career-high), Gauff played her last match on the 4th of November 2023 when she capitulated to world no.5 Jessica Pegula 6-2 6-1 in the semifinal in Cancun (draw).
During this season Coco has achieved a composed 51-16 win-loss record.
