Young American talent Coco Gauff claimed her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. Gauff defeated newly crowned world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s singles final at the Flushing Meadows. With this win, Gauff emerged as the first teenager from her country to clinch the US Open title since Serena Williams in 1999. Following the memorable victory, Gauff was praised by legendary tennis player Roger Federer. The Swiss maestro shared his feelings by penning a congratulatory note for the 19-year-old US Open champion on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). In his post, the five-time US Open champion highlighted Gauff’s grit and resilience.
“Inspirational win, Coco Gauff. (I have) been watching your game and following you for years. It’s great to see so much hard work and passion being rewarded. You shine brighter than ever,” Federer wrote.
Gauff is a part of Federer’s TEAM 8 agency, a management firm launched by the former tennis player, along with his agent Tony Godsick, back in 2013. Gauff signed with TEAM 8 agency before making her professional debut four years back.
Coming back to the US Open final, Coco Gauff failed to earn a promising start against Aryna Sabalenka at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Belarusian world number one dominated the opening set and won it 6-2. The early setback hardly left an impact on Gauff. She produced one of her best performances in the next two sets to script a roaring comeback. Demonstrating a tremendous fighting spirit in front of her home crowd, Gauff won the last two sets 6-3, 6-2.
“I’m still me. … I don’t think I’ll ever (see) myself as a celebrity. I’m just a person who plays tennis, and millions of people like to watch me play tennis. But I think I’m going to be the same person after this. Yes, my life has changed. But I don’t think it’s going to affect how I approach my day-to-day life,” Gauff said in an interview with news agency AP.
Gauff, at the age of 13, announced her arrival in world tennis having emerged as the youngest US Open girl’s singles finalist in 2017. She made her debut at the senior level next year before featuring in her first WTA match in 2019. Gauff succeeded in winning her maiden WTA title at the 2019 Linz Open. A remarkable performance at the Flushing Meadows has now guided Gauff to the third spot in the WTA rankings in singles. She claims the top spot in the newly released doubles rankings.
