The 2019 tennis season has been one full of tremendous performances and has also witnessed the rise of some real talent in tennis. Coco Gauff is one player who impressed. The 15-year-old managed to compete fairly on the big stage, winning some matches against elite players such as Venus Williams at Wimbledon. She also did pretty well during the US Open, where she reached the third round of the tournament losing to Naomi Osaka.
Despite losing to the Japanese, Coco Gauff could not help praising her. The 22-year-old exercised true sportsmanship by welcoming the teenager to address the fans. At first, she seemed reluctant to honor Osaka’s invitation during the post-match address.
The kind-hearted Osaka deemed it fit to console and comfort the teenager after the match. For her, a year ago, she was the one in tears after winning the US Open title.
“I saw that she was kind of tearing up a little. Then it reminded me how young she was. I was just thinking, like, it would be nice for her to address the people that came and watched her play,” said Osaka.
Gauff accepted the invite
Coco Gauff accepted the invite and could not resist showering her with a lot of praise. This is what she said, “I think she really showed sportsmanship tonight. I mean, I wasn’t expecting it. I’m glad that I was able to experience that moment. I’m glad the crowd was kind of helping me and her. I was crying. Everybody was crying.”
She went further and referred to Naomi as a true athlete. “I think she just proved that she’s a true athlete. For me, the definition of an athlete is someone who on the court treats you like your worst enemy, but off the court can be your best friend. I think that’s what she did tonight,” Osaka added.
Coco Gauff’s season achievements
After the US Open, the teenager won her first WTA Tour title during the Linz Open. Winning the title made her the youngest tennis player in WTA competitions with such an achievement to her name.
Coco Gauff’s exemplary performance in 2019 has made her one of the hottest prospects in tennis. She will be hoping that her excellent run this year can see her win the much-coveted WTA Newcomer of the year award. Coco Gauff is competing for this award alongside Dayana Yatremska, Iga Swiatek, Bianca Andreescu, and Karolina Muchova, who also have been incredible this season.
Osaka in Shenzhen, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.3, Osaka has a 40-11 win-loss record in 2019. Naomi is now competing in Shenzhen where she toppled Petra Kvitova 7-61 4-6 6-4.
Cori Gauff’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.68 (career-high), the American played her last match on the 16th of October when she was defeated by Anna Blinkova 6-4 6-0 in the 1st round in Luxembourg.
This year the American has a 18-8 win-loss record. The American has won 1 title in Linz.
Naomi Osaka and Cori Gauff played each other 1 time. The head to head is 1-0 for Osaka.
The last time that they fought against each other, Naomi Osaka won 6-3 6-0 in the 3rd round in U.S. Open on the 31st August 2019.
Here the highlights.
