As the 2019 US Open is set to begin Monday, defending US Open women’s singles champion Naomi Osaka is ready to take on all challengers—including a wild-card entry who has garnered plenty of attention this summer.
Fifteen-year-old Cori “Coco” Gauff turned heads last month when she defeated her idol, Venus Williams, in the first round at Wimbledon and then won two more matches before losing to eventual champ Simona Halep in the fourth round. Gauff was given a wild-card entry into the US Open. Osaka, who was 20 when she won the US Open title last summer, was asked at Friday’s US Open Media Day if it was a good idea for Gauff to accept her invitation into the main draw.
“I think she’s American, isn’t she?” Osaka asked rhetorically. “She played so well in Wimbledon. Why wouldn’t she play here?”
Osaka, who lost in the first round at Wimbledon and has been recovering from a knee injury, was asked if there’s any chance that playing in the Open at such a young age might harm Gauff’s progress.
“No, I don’t get that,” she said. “This is such a great experience for her. She obviously deserves to be here. She played well in Wimbledon. She’s super young, but ... I don’t see how it can harm her at all.”
