American teenager Coco Gauff delighted the home crowd by making it to her maiden US Open semi-finals with a 6-0 6-2 victory over Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old is the only American teenager to make it to the final four at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams.
Recently, Gauff revealed during a conversation that her grandmother, the first black student to enroll at Seacrest High School, served as an inspiration for her.
Gauff stated: “She’s 1 of the main reasons I use my platform the way I do & why I feel so comfortable speaking out. For those who don’t know, she was the 1st black person to go to Seacrest High School. She taught me to approach every situation with kindness & understanding. For her to go through what she did during that time. I think what I do. like putting out a tweet or saying a speech is so easy compared to that. She always reminds me that I’m a person first instead of an athlete.”
Coco Gauff is inspired by her grandma, who was the 1st black student to attend Seacrest High School:
“She’s 1 of the main reasons I use my platform the way I do & why I feel so comfortable speaking out. For those who don’t know, she was the 1st black person to go to Seacrest… pic.twitter.com/92c2KU1F16
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 5, 2023
Gauff at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2023
LWWLWWWLWW Ranked no.6, Coco has managed to achieve a composed 43-13 win-loss record in 2023. The American is competing at the U.S. Open where she ousted the world no.121 Laura Siegemund 3-6 6-2 6-4, the world no.63 Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-2, the world no.32 Elise Mertens 3-6 6-3 6-0, the world no.623 Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 3-6 6-1 and the world no.21 Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-2.
Coco Gauff will face the world no.10 Karolina Muchova in the semifinal. Their current head to head is 1-0 for Gauff.
Gauff has won 3 titles in 2023 in Auckland, Washington and Cincinnati.
Coco won 5 titles in her career: 3 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
