Gauff has been in the spotlight since she first appeared on the scene as a 15-year-old in 2019, but when she clinched the US Open trophy on Saturday, it seemed as though all of her brilliance came to a peak.
Chris Evert, a legendary American tennis player, has taken notice of Gauff’s achievements because winning a major at such a young age is by no means easy. Evert praised Coco Gauff and gave reasons why she wouldn’t likely share Emma Raducanu’s destiny, another young Grand Slam winner.
Emma Raducanu is familiar with what it’s like to be the center of attention as a prodigy, just like Coco Gauff. At the 2021 US Open, Raducanu, then 18 years old, became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam and was expected to dominate the WTA tour in the future years.
She was overcome by the tremendous pressure and hasn’t been able to match it since. She is now recovering from her injuries that required three different surgeries earlier this year.
Chris Evert believes that Coco Gauff is now mature enough to bear the pressure of success and won’t follow Emma Raducanu’s example. She discussed this in an interview: “I am glad Coco Gauff did not win as a younger teenager because it can be a bad thing for players. There are examples of that. Look at Emma Raducanu. It puts a lot of pressure on the player because they are not emotionally developed yet and they cannot handle it. Coco is now ready to win.”
Emma Raducanu in 2023
Ranked no.194, the Brit played her last match on the 18th of April when she lost to world no.16 Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-1 in the 1st round in Stuttgart (draw).
Presently, during this year the Brit achieved a composed 5-5 match record.
Coco Gauff in 2023
Now ranked no.3 (career-high), the American played her last match on the 9th of September when she defeated world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2 in the final of the U.S. Open to win her 6th career title.
This year Coco has achieved an overall 45-13 match record. Coco conquered 4 titles in 2023 in Auckland, Washington, Cincinnati and U.S. Open.
Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff played each other only once. Their actual record is 1-0 for Gauff. When they played, Coco Gauff won 6-3 7-6(4) in the 2nd round in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 18th of January 2023.
Here are the highlights.
Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff |
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