World No.10 Coco Gauff is still a youngster, it should come as no surprise that she was on her phone in the locker room 10 minutes before the U.S. Open final began. She was reading on social media. The Florida teenager, then 19 years old, later recalled that she had been reading a variety of, mostly negative, comments that “said I wasn’t going to win today; that just fired me up.”
Gauff has always absorbed it all as a pro athlete since a young age, as someone whose brilliance has been anticipated by some and questioned by others, and as someone who has always kept pushing forward while attempting to learn from each setback. And now, Gauff is a Grand Slam champion and a recognized celebrity at a competition she once attended to watch her idols, Serena and Venus Williams.
Great Come Back
Sabalenka appeared to be headed for a straight-set victory, but Gauff fought back admirably to claim her first Grand Slam title in front of her loving supporters. The American won the match mostly as a result of outperforming Sabalenka in first serve percentage (66 percent to 52 percent), while also making significantly less unforced mistakes (19 to 46). When the WTA rankings are updated, Sabalenka will deservedly assume the top spot, and Gauff will move up to World No. 3 as a result of this historic victory. Although it is the 19-year-old’s first Grand Slam, one has the impression that there are more in store for her as she grows and develops.
Winning at Home
Gauff, beaming, shares her assessment of today’s game: “Winning at home means so much to me. Right now, I feel like I’m a little bit shocked. Losing the French Open upset me a much. This one is more sweeter because of those times. I don’t pray for outcomes, I humbly pray for the fortitude to give it my all, I am appreciative of this time. To be honest, I’m at a loss for words,” she remarked.
“I knew I had no chance of winning if I didn’t give it everything I had. Aryna, thank you for being ranked first. You are an amazing player. I let everyone know that you’re a good person on the inside. It improves the game.
Aryna Sabalenka
At the award ceremony, a visibly dejected Sabalenka expresses her feelings: “I am glad that I was able to handle my emotions most of the time [this year]. My attention was on me rather than the ranking. The best aspect of this year was that. “I’d want to commend Coco and your staff. Your group merits the honour. I’m sure there will be a lot more. I hope we get to play in lots of finals. Hopefully the outcome will be different the next time [laughs],” she added.
“My family was awake and observing. I apologies for the outcome [laughs]. We’ll recover more powerfully.