Coco Gauff is the 10th youngest female to win the U.S. open championship. Gauff won the tournament as a 19-year-old while the youngest female champion was 16-year-old Tracy Austin in 1979. The 19-year-old champion has been a pro athlete for a while and has learned a lot along the way. This win represented a major win for both female and black athletes all over the world.
A touching image that I came across online was a video of young Coco Gauff cheering on her idols, Serena and Venus Williams, back in the day. She looked up to these women from a young age and she has now made some of the same history that they have. In 1999, Serena Williams became the second American female to win the U.S. Open final and this past month Gauff became the third. Gauff’s opponent was Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who was the Australian Open final winner. Sabalenka was surprised at Gauff’s defense during the match and found herself unable to compete as well as she usually could. Ultimately, Gauff was the most consistent player during the match and ended up bringing home the gold.
Gauff had a disappointing performance at Wimbledon and decided that she needed to make a major change. She recruited Brad Gilbert, an ESPN commentator, along with Pere Riba to help coach her. These two coaching changes would make a massive difference in Gauff’s game. The combination of new coaching and a set plan gave Gauff a new found confidence for this year’s competition. Confidence is vital in the game of tennis and fans could see the difference in Gauff’s attitude and performance.
What an incredible finale to the U.S. Open as a young female athlete opens the path up for even more trailblazers in the future. Watching Gauff play was like watching a lightning bolt filled with energy. She’s young and willing to pull whatever strings needed to walk away with the gold. This story is just one more example of women still not being in favor when it comes to sports, yet they continue to persevere. Women will continue to fight to get the spotlight when it comes to sports and Coco Gauff is just one more example of this.