Is it better to be lucky or good? How about both, as Coco Gauff was last week at the Linz Open, parlaying a lucky-loser spot into her first career WTA title.
The 15-year-old American got past 2017 French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, in Sunday's final to become the youngest WTA titlist since Nicole Vaidisova in 2004. Gauff also knocked off top seed and world No. 8 Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, 7-6, 6-4, in the quarterfinals to secure her first career Top-10 win.
Now ranked a career-high No. 71 in the world, the talented teen is the only player under the age of 18 in the WTA's Top 100. After much attention was paid to whether or not Gauff would receive a wild card into the 2019 US Open—she was indeed granted a main-draw spot, and took advantage by reaching Round 3 before falling to Naomi Osaka—she is now virtually guaranteed direct entry into January's Australian Open.
Here's more on the first-time champion.
The Coco Gauff File
Age: 15
Birthplace: Delray Beach, Fla.
Current Rank: 71
Career-High Rank: 71
Best US Open Finish: Round 3 (2019)
The Baseline
- It's all happened so quickly for Gauff. This time last year, she was gearing up for a pair of top-tier junior tournaments to finish the 2018 season. She closed out her junior career in December by winning the Orange Bowl in her native South Florida. Three months later, in March, she made her WTA debut as a Miami Open wild card, dismissing doubles partner Caty McNally for her first Tour-level victory.
- While her junior career—which included a French Open singles title in 2018, a US Open final appearance in 2017 and the world No. 1 ranking—made her one to watch in tennis circles, Gauff became an international household name when she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon this summer as a qualifier. Her fairytale run included a first-round victory over Venus Williams and a come-from-behind, three-set win over Polona Hercog in the third round, in which she saved two match points.
- After a first-round loss as a qualifier at the Citi Open, Gauff made her fourth WTA main-draw appearance at the 2019 US Open. She notched four combined wins, split evenly across singles and doubles (with McNally), and was a part of one of the moments of the tournament after Osaka, her third-round conqueror, invited her to share the post-match interview in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. Both of Gauff's US Open singles wins came in three sets, as she topped Anastasia Potapova in Round 1 and Timea Babos in Round 2, winning the deciding set, 6-4, in Louis Armstrong Stadium on both occassions.
- Gauff is coached by her father, Corey (after whom she is named, Cori). Watch below as the elder Gauff speaks to his daughter during what turned out to be the last changeover of the Linz final. At the time, Gauff led, 5-2, but she had just lost two games in a row, from 5-0, and was ruing two dropped match points on the Ostapenko serve that would have given her the title with a bagel set. After the changeover, Gauff won four out of six points on the return and claimed the title when the Latvian sailed a forehand long on match point No. 3, at 30-40.
- According to the WTA, Gauff is the youngest player to make her WTA Top-100 debut in more than 14 years. She is also the first American to make her Top-100 debut before her 16th birthday since Chanda Rubin in 1991, and the youngest American to make her Top-100 debut since Jennifer Capriati (in 1990 at 14 years, 11 days old).
They Said It!
"It’s just literally insane that I got in as a lucky loser and now I’m the champion... My dad told me when I got in, before the first main-draw match, he said ‘You can’t lose twice in the same tournament!' I’m sure he never thought it would come this far, to being the champion, but I guess he was right!" — Gauff shared an inside joke between her and her father on her unusual path to her first WTA title.
