It’s been a breakthrough season for 18-year-old Coco Gauff, the American teenage phenom who’s turned heads since she became the junior world No. 1 in 2018. Though she’s yet to clinch a major title, the Georgia native reached her first Grand Slam singles final at Roland Garros in June – and her second major doubles final at the same tournament (alongside compatriot Jessica Pegula, who has teamed with her for almost the entire year.)
In nine months, Gauff has won WTA 1000 doubles titles in Qatar and Toronto; captured the WTA No. 1 doubles ranking in mid-August; and now hovers just outside the Top 10 in singles, having recently peaked at No. 11.
When asked at Friday’s US Open Media Day how she felt about leading the doubles standings, Gauff laughed: “[I] didn’t even know there was separate rankings from singles and doubles” until a couple of weeks ago.
Gauff is the second-youngest player in the WTA singles Top 100—only about four months older than the Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova, the world No. 87—and the second-highest ranked teenager, after Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu, who took home the women's title her last year. She is not the top American in singles—this week, it’s partner Pegula at No. 7—but arguably the one with the most potential, given her rapid ascent and age.
When the rapidly-rising star was asked for her thoughts on one of her heroes in the sport, Serena Williams, who has announced that this year's US Open would likely be the last tournament of her career, Gauff said: “I think just the way she was able to [transcend] a sport that’s predominantly white … that’s something that as a little girl, and even now, meant a lot to me. Before Serena came along, there was not really an icon of the sport that looked like me.
"So growing up, I never thought that I was different because the No. 1 player in the world was somebody who looked like me.”
Gauff – who has an infectious smile and boundless energy, especially when discussing Serena – talks about the many lessons she learned from the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, whether by watching her on television or, later, holding in-person conversations. The two initially met when Gauff was only 9 or 10, working as Serena’s young stunt double for an airplane commercial.
“She doesn’t know this, but the first money I ever made for myself was because of her doing a commercial,” Gauff laughed.
“It’s just the way she handles herself,” Gauff added. “She never puts herself down. I love that she always elevates herself. Sometimes being a woman—a Black woman in the world—you kind of settle for less ... [Serena] never settled for less. I can’t remember a moment in her career or life that she settled for less.”
With the spotlight now on her, Gauff has begun applying Serena’s lessons about life on tour and dealing with the media. Though she doesn’t refer to Serena as a mentor, Gauff is adamant the 41-year-old is the greatest of all time: “She didn’t dominate one generation. She didn’t dominate for two generations. She dominated for three-plus generations. I don’t think anybody else did that.”
Ultimately, however, the comparisons don’t do the teenager justice. Each player has her own journey, and reaches milestones in her own time. If Gauff were to win the 2022 US Open women’s singles title, she’d be the first American to do so since Sloane Stephens in 2017. Should she and Pegula win doubles, they’d be the first all-American pair to win that US Open event since Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in 2011.
“It’s nice to play in the U.S.,” Gauff said. “You definitely feel it with the fans and everything … People come out to support you. I remember even when I was playing qualies here when I was 14, obviously no one knew who I was, but I had so much crowd support on that match.”
Even if she doesn’t win in Flushing Meadows, Gauff recognizes the value of patience. Referring to a new goal of becoming world No. 1 in both singles and doubles simultaneously—something only a handful of other players, including Serena, have achieved—she said: “That might take some time, but that would be pretty cool, too.”
