By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
It’s a great script.
A 19-year-old African-American girl from Florida, fights though early hype, endures through disappointments, picks up an all-star coach and then finally breaks through and wins the U.S. Open.
That’s the Coco Gauff story.
Touted for greatness since her early teens as she reached the junior U.S. Open final in 2017 at the age of 13, Gauff fulfilled her promise to one day become a major singles champion by defeating No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the U.S. Open women’s singles final in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 19-year-old joins Serena Williams, who won the U.S. Open at age 17 in 1999, and Tracy Austin, who won the U.S. Open in 1979 at age 16 and again in 1981 at age 18, as teenage women to win the U.S. Open since the start of the pro era in 1968.
Gauff was one of the most celebrated junior tennis players in recent memory and became a WTA Tour teen sensation when she famously beat Venus Williams en route to the fourth round of Wimbledon as a 15-year-old in 2019. She slowly progressed up the ranks and seemed on the verge of breaking through to win a major singles title at the French Open in 2021, but was defeated in the final by Iga Swiatek.
As she turned 19, still incredibly young in pro tennis, her career seemed to stall a bit, at least from her critics and those overly anxious to see her win at the highest level in the sport by winning a Grand Slam tournament title. A first round of loss at Wimbledon to qualifier Sofia Kenin prompted Gauff’s team to reach out to famed tennis coach Brad Gilbert to work with Gauff on a trial basis.
Gilbert, a former top 10 player and Olympic bronze medalist and author of the ultimate tactical tennis book “Winning Ugly,” was noted for his work resurrecting the career of Andre Agassi as well as leading Andy Roddick to the U.S. Open title in 2003.
Gilbert, along with Spanish coach Pere Riba, were able to instill tactics, strategies and mindset that led to immediately to Gauff winning the title in Washington, D.C. and then again in Cincinnati. The momentum continued during her two-week run to the title in New York as Gauff increased her record to 18-1 following her first round Wimbledon loss.
With some symbolism, Gauff’s win came 55 years to the day when Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a major singles title at the U.S. Open in 1968. It also came 33 years to the day when another 19-year-old American Pete Sampras won the U.S. Open men’s singles title in 1990. It also came 23 years to the day when Venus Williams became the second black woman to win the U.S. women’s singles title in 2000.
