Coco Gauff has already completed a lot, but chances are high she’s simply getting began.
Gauff, 21, gained her second profession main and first French Open on Saturday, defeating No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.
Gauff grew to become the primary American since Serena Williams (2015) to win the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup and likewise the youngest to win a U.S. Open and French Open since Williams (2002).
The world’s No. 2-ranked participant on the WTA Tour has greater than lived as much as her lofty expectations after bursting onto the scene as an beginner at 2019 Wimbledon, when she reached the fourth spherical at 15 years previous.
Gauff’s 2025 French Open breakthrough may very well be the beginning of a protracted stretch of dominance at Roland-Garros.
Together with this 12 months’s French Open, Gauff is 75-28 on clay and enjoying the very best tennis of her profession on the floor. She reached three finals on clay this season, together with April’s Madrid Open and Could’s Rome Open.
Gauff improved to 28-6 at Roland Garros, and her .824 win proportion on the 12 months’s second tennis main is her highest at a grand slam occasion.
The game just lately noticed Iga Swiatek dominate the event, successful 4 French Opens from 2020-24, together with three in a row earlier than dropping to Sabalenka on this 12 months’s semifinals.
She’ll be a consider future seasons, however Gauff has established herself as one other clay courtroom technician and will go on an identical run in future years.
Gauff’s excellent protection was on show towards Sabalenka when she broke two of the world No. 1’s serves with out dropping some extent.
Per InfoSys, Gauff gained 53% of her receiving factors (61-of-116), together with 52% (36-of-69) on Sabalenka’s first serve.
Gauff, among the finest return gamers no matter floor, takes benefit of clay being tennis’ slowest enjoying floor by with the ability to attain extra balls and get them over the web.
Here is Gauff within the first set when she pressured a tiebreak after working the baseline following a number of massive Sabalenka swings.
Gauff is already arguably the very best girls’s tennis participant and has doubtless not even reached her peak. That is a scary thought for the remainder of the tour. Gauff’s French Open win may very well be an indication of what is to return.