Tennis news: Coco Gauff – one of the leading athletes in 2024 women’s sports
Sports News Blitz writer Shameeka Voyiya takes a look at American tennis star Coco Gauff, who at just 20 years old has established herself as one of this year’s household names in women’s sports.
New heights
Gauff has soared to new heights of success after registering her second win against Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) defending champion Iga Świątek.
The American beat second seed Świątek 6-3, 6-4 for the second time in 13 attempts at the WTA Finals, securing her spot at the semi-finals.
"Obviously playing Iga is tough for me, but I'm really happy how I managed to play throughout the match," Gauff told the WTA.
"And, yeah, it was a fun crowd environment. It was pretty exciting. So I'm glad to get through.”
Feeling great
Gauff is now the youngest player to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the WTA Finals.
"It feels great," she said. "I knew going into the match, despite our head-to-head, I had a lot of confidence and I felt like I was playing great tennis.
"Even when I was playing a little bit sloppy, the games that I lost were still going to deuce. That gave me confidence and I knew if I stayed solid I had the chance to close out the match."
At her youth, Gauff achieved prodigy status in the sport particularly after beating one of her childhood idols Venus Williams at the Wimbledon Championships when she was just 15 years old.
By 19, she became the third American teenager to win the US Open women’s title in 2023.
The third seed’s inspiring career leaves more room for success as she aims to go head-to-head with Barbora Krejčíková for the semi-final.
Gauff is also breaking barriers by normalising hair care discussions through her partnerships with natural hair brands on social media.
Taking to Instagram, she has used her platform to open up conversations about styling women’s hair in the sports industry to feel confident and beautiful as a black tennis player.
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