Coco Gauff crumpled to the baseline in jubilation after her backhand passing shot whizzed past Aryna Sabalenka and gave her the United States Open championship. It was a well-constructed point that began with a near-side serve so close to the T and curved to the left that another opponent may well have been unable to anticipate. That the rally lasted 10 more exchanges was a reflection of the quality of her opponent, slated to be elevated to World Number One regardless of the outcome of the set-to. That said, she was simply in a class all by herself from the second set on, with the outcome, by that time, no longer in doubt.
Indeed, Gauff headed into the year’s last major tournament on the crest of a remarkable run; she had won 17 of 18 encounters since being bounced out of Wimbledon in the first round two months ago, buoyed by a change in her retinue that led to the arrival of coaches Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert. The injection of new blood reaffirmed her commitment to her craft, leading to two titles and a positive prognosis that belied her standing in New York as the sixth seed. She promptly underscored how much she deserved to be counted among the best of the best; en route to the women’s singles final, she toppled reigning major titleholders Iga Swiatek and Marketa Vondrousova, as well as French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova.
In ascending to the top at Flushing Meadows, Gauff has sparked comparisons to all-time-great Serena Williams. For a good number of reasons, the expectations are unfair. Then again, it’s hard for fans not to anticipate her continued rise in the sport following her emphatic showing. She may have encountered rough spots along the way, but, in contrast to previous outings, she never wavered in her self-assurance. Yesterday, she overcame a jittery first set to claim the hardware, only the second time in the history of the Grand Slam event. And who was the first to have done it, also as a teenager? You guessed it: The very same player to whom she is now being likened.
In the aftermath, Gauff admitted that she had yet to process her accomplishment. “I feel like I’m in a little bit of shock in this moment.” To be sure, she deserves to take a little time to bask in her success, and then understand that conditions aren’t likely to be as favorable from here on. For one thing, she can no longer proudly wear her underdog tag. For another, she will be hard-pressed to lean on the extent of crowd support that was evident at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center from start to finish.
All the same, Gauff has made herself a bona fide member of the tennis elite. She’s on a roll, and, at this point, there’s little cause to believe it will stop anytime soon.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
