Novak Djokovic, a 36-year-old Serbian tennis player, defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Sept. 10. Djokovic has now become the first player to win 24 in the Open era. But are fans happy about this?
Sarah Benowitz, women’s tennis player for SUNY Plattsburgh, said, “As a tennis player, I am not a fan of Novak Djokovic because of his past actions during COVID. His reign over tennis has gone on for far too long. I was disappointed to see him win, in hopes that a younger tennis player would win instead.”
Talking to my teammates, I asked who were happy that Djokovic won the US Open and the majority voiced that they think “he should retire,” “he’s too old,” or that “he just didn’t deserve it.” On the other hand, I think Djokovic is a great player and I admire him for his trick shots to shift the game in his favor, but he has created a bit of stir in the past for COVID regulations for playing tennis during the pandemic and it seems to have impacted if he had deserved to win the US Open or should he have hung the racquet up.
Coco Gauff, 19-year-old American tennis player, won her first major title at the US Open with a victory against Aryna Sabalenka of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Gauff is the youngest American tennis player to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999. She is such an admirable tennis player, especially amongst the new adult group. When I first found out who Gauff was, I was a junior in high school. My friend was telling me that this girl was playing Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka and Gauff was only 17. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard someone my age was playing in the Western and Southern Open against one of the best women’s tennis players. To see a young tennis player is really an inspiration to me to know that, if I put my mind to it, I could be in the same place she was.
Gauff spoke about her point of view on only having Serena and Venus Williams as her role model.
“Growing up, there weren’t too many Black tennis players dominating the sport,” Gauff said to ESPN. “It was literally, at that time when I was younger, it was just them that I can remember. All the things that they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this.”
Seeing someone who is young and looks like me was such a big deal for me and some of my other teammates. There aren’t many Black people playing tennis, and I remember a lot of people growing up didn’t see me as a tennis player because I didn’t look like the majority of women’s tennis players in terms of skin color. However, after Gauff became more famous and well-known, it made a difference to Black tennis players because we had a role model, someone to give us strength to keep following our dreams and play the sport we love.
Djokovic and Gauff have stunned the world with their accomplishments of winning the US Open 2023. Both set new records and changed the tennis world for the better. I can’t wait to see what Djokovic and Gauff have in store for us next.