Congratulations Coco Gauff, the 19-year-old American winner of the U.S. Open women’s singles title, her first Grand Slam.
In addition to Gauff’s victory, there were several other surprises this year: three Americans made it into the semifinals, Coco, Madison Keys, and a 20-year-old on the men’s side, Ben Shelton, who just completed his first full year on tour. But the most memorable moment, in my opinion, was when Gauff, after winning the final match, dropped to her knees and began to pray.
The 19-year-old had been a Grand Slam finalist before, losing badly to the number one player at the 2022 French Open. After a first-round loss at Wimbledon this year, Coco supplemented her team, which was comprised of primarily her parents, Candi and Corey. Veteran coaches Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert, who coached former champions Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick, joined the Gauff camp.
Since that time her confidence has blossomed. Before this year’s U.S. Open, Gauff won two prestigious lead-up events this summer, the Mubadala Citi Open in Washington D.C., and the Western and Southern Open in Ohio.
The new coaching staff and hard work paid off in Saturday’s final, with her three-set win over the formidable Belarusian champion Aryna Sabalenka, who tried unsuccessfully to hit Gauff off the court. Coco’s emotional reaction, complete with tears from both she and her parents (it was, she said, the first time she saw her father cry), were wonderful to watch. But the icing on the cake was when Gauff dropped
