Getty Image / Daniel Pockett
Coco Gauff is going to be one of the biggest stars in American sports if she’s not already. The eighteen-year-old tennis player is already one of the ten best players in the world, and has been thrilling fans for a half-decade already.
Gauff first burst onto the scene at just fifteen years old when she made the last sixteen at Wimbledon in 2019. Her rare athleticism was on display then, and everyone knew she had major potential.
She continued to be very successful for her age in grand slams. But, her biggest breakthrough came last year when she made the finals at the French Open. She lost to world-number-one Iga Swiatek in the finals, but at just over eighteen years old, it was quite an accomplishment.
She entered the Australian Open ranked 7th in the world after reaching a career-high 4th in the world last Fall. And, Gauff won her first-round match on Monday over Kateřina Siniaková. That set up a huge clash with one of the other great young players in the sport, Emma Raducanu. Raducanu won the 2020 US Open at just 18 years old, and the Brit looks like a future superstar as well.
Gauff got the win, 6-4 7-6 (4). And, she made history in the process.
100 CAREER WINS❗
18-year-old @CocoGauff has recorded the milestone 100th WTA win of her career with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open. 💥
She's the youngest woman to reach that milestone since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009. 👀
— TENNIS (@Tennis) January 18, 2023
It’s quite the accomplishment.
Go Cocoooooo❤️❤️
— DC-LABS.design (@OlasunkanmiDc) January 18, 2023
Great match Coco!
— Ree Bee (@ReeBee27) January 18, 2023
Gauff will play fellow American Bernarda Para in the third round.