At just 20 years of age Coco Gauff has already reached the kind of dizzying heights most seasoned pros can only dream of in elite-level tennis.
Earlier this week Gauff, who is turning 20 on Wednesday, won her final match as a teenager when she defeated Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti to advance to the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters.
She is waving goodbye to her teens as both a Grand Slam champion and a household name in American sport.
Last year’s triumph at the US Open has catapulted her into the public domain, with Time Magazine Women of the Year nominations, Vogue Magazine cover shoots and a host commercial deals soon following.
On and off the court, the girl from Delray Beach, Florida, has enjoyed a remarkable rise in the sport since making her professional debut at the tender age of 14. Just a year later she made a name for herself at Wimbledon after becoming the youngest ever player to qualify for the main draw at 15 years and three months.
American tennis star Coco Gauff won her final match as a teenager at Indian Wells on Monday
Gauff has already become a Grand Slam champion and household name after winning last year’s US Open
The now-20-year-old has also starred on the front cover of the iconic Vogue Magazine
Despite her unprecedented lack of experience, Gauff sparked a major upset when she toppled five-time champion Venus Williams in straight sets, before going on to reach the fourth round of the competition.
Two years later she secured her first quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam when she made it to the last eight of the French Open, only to come unstuck in straight sets against eventual champion Barbora Krejčíková.
Nevertheless, in getting that far Gauff had set a number of professional tennis records at 17 years and three months; becoming the youngest female player to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal for 15 years, the youngest American to make a French Open quarterfinal in 28 years and the youngest American in any Grand Slam quarterfinal for 24 years.
There would be triple heartbreak to come for the youngster over the next 12 months, the first coming when Gauff and doubles partner Caty McNally were beaten in that season’s US Open final by Australia’s Samantha Stosur and China’s Zhang Shuai.
The following summer would prove a bittersweet moment for the now-18-year-old as she secured her first Grand Slam singles final appearance at the French Open, where she also reached the final in doubles with new partner Jessica Pegula. Both, however, ended in defeat to leave a young Gauff reeling from three final losses in the space of a year.
You would forgive most young athletes for letting those high-profile shortcomings demoralize them to the point of no return in their respective fields. Gauff refused to be denied in her bid to reach the top, in her quest to prevail at a Grand Slam after three near misses.
Gauff first made a name for herself as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon when she defeated five-time champion Venus Williams
Three years later she was beaten in both the doubles and singles finals at the French Open
The following season, she battled back from those disappointments to write even more history on home soil at the US Open, becoming the first American teenager male or female to win the competition since Serena Williams in 1999.
Gauff produced the finest form of her career at Flushing Meadows back in September, with her crowning moment coming in a three-set victory over world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Since getting her hands on a first Grand Slam title, Coco has not only risen to No 3 in the world rankings. She was also ranked in the same position in Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid female athletes, having amassed an estimated $21.7million in both on and off-court earnings.
Gauff was already well on track to becoming a household name before getting the better of Sabalenka in September, with that victory merely propelling her to even loftier heights from a commercial standpoint. Last year she starred in an ad for movie ‘The Marvels’ while gracing a limited-edition cover of a Invincible Iron Man comic book. There were also deals with Baker Tilly, Bose and UPS.
In recent months the US Open champion has already graced the cover of Vogue, dazzling in a $5,690 Michael Kors dress while discussing the ‘addiction’ of her Grand Slam triumph.
On the brink of her 20th birthday, Gauff was shot by famous photographer Annie Leibovitz, who has photographed everyone, even the late Queen Elizabeth II, in a shoot for the iconic fashion magazine.
‘That was a feeling I’ll never be able to replicate no matter how many more matches I win,’ she told Vogue. ‘I want to win more so I can get as close to the feeling.
Gauff fought back from those final blows to go all the way on home soil at last year’s US Open
The 19-year-old became the first American teenager to win a Grand Slam this century
She was subsequently nominated as one of Time Magazine’s Women of the Year for 2023
The world is at Gauff’s feet as she prepares to wave her teenage years goodbye and turn 20
‘I told my mom—I literally said, ‘It was an addictive feeling.’ As soon as I felt that, I wanted to refeel it again. I said, ‘Now I see how people get addicted to drugs.’ That feeling was a drug. For the rest of my life, the rest of my career, I’m going to be chasing that high.’
However, last month brought an even more honorable achievement when Gauff was nominated as one of Time Magazine’s Women of the Year alongside a host of stellar names, including Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig and human-rights activist Nadia Murad.
Many experienced players on the international tennis circuit would snatch your hand off for a Grand Slam title and the type of illustrious recognition Gauff has received before even waving goodbye to her teenage years.
And as she steps into her 20s, the American tennis sensation has a warning for her rivals on the court.
‘Hopefully I can win a couple more in my 20s and yeah,’ she said about her success as a teenager after this week’s win at Indian Wells. ‘Age is just a number. I’m going to be out here for at least another 10 years.
‘So I’ll see you guys then.’
