During the US Open, most 15-year-old kids were gearing up for high school, getting school supplies and sharpening their pencils and minds in advance of their first day. It’s been quite a different experience for Cori “Coco” Gauff, who was playing in a jam-packed Louis Armstrong Stadium at the 2019 US Open recently. Coco calmly beat No. 64 and fellow teenager Anastasia Potapova last Tuesday, and followed that impressive result up by winning once again two nights later on the same court with an even bigger crowd behind her against doubles specialist Timea Babos.
The American tennis-playing prodigy from Florida had a miracle run at Wimbledon last month, advancing through the Championships’ Grand Slam qualifying draw before knocking off five-time ladies’ singles champion Venus Williams in the opening round, and she then won two more main draw matches before succumbing in straights to eventual champion Simona Halep in week two. Despite her young age and the limited amount of WTA tournaments she can play as a result, the USTA awarded her a main draw wildcard into the US Open. She is by far the youngest female tennis player to ever receive such a wildcard without winning the USTA Girls 18s national championship title. While most teenage tennis players are working their way through the junior ranks, Coco Gauff achieved world No. 1 junior rankings well before she could play on the circuit full- time due to limitations placed on players based solely on age.
With a third round showing at her maiden US Open, Gauff will break into the WTA’s top 100 rankings by tournament’s end and take over as the youngest player ranked in that category as well as one of the youngest ranked on the Tour as a whole - since the Open, she won her maiden WTA title as a lucky loser - the youngest WTA title holder in more than a decade. Although she lost in straight sets against top-ranked Osaka, it’s what happened after the match that won the hearts of everyone watching. Instead of letting Gauff walk off the court and into the lonely locker room alone, Osaka consoled her teary-eyed opponent and then shared the limelight with the thousands of fans who came out to Ashe stadium to witness history in the making, and the millions of viewers watching from home. Two girls who train out of the same facility in Florida had officially “made it” on the big stage, a fact that Osaka had pointed out that also brought her to tears. It’s moments like these that help to further women’s tennis and prevent any mental lapses from creeping in, which can happen, especially in junior tennis. It’s no secret that in juniors, the players exhibit immature behavior when compared to how the pros would handle similar situations.
In light of her recent successes on the pro circuit, it was in the juniors that players like Gauff honed their tennis-playing skills, as well as players like rising Americans Amanda Anisimova, Sonya Kenin and Caty McNally. In this year’s US Open, Kenin reached the third round before falling to compatriot Madison Keys, while McNally famously took a set off of six-time US Open champion and crowd favorite Serena Williams. Anisimova was missing from competition due to the unfortunate, sudden passing of her father. It’s important to note that the story of Gauff’s meteoric rise to tennis stardom is not the first time that an American prodigy has taken the tennis world by storm in recent years.
After winning the girls’ 18s super national championships in 2014, Catherine “CiCi” Bellis earned an automatic wildcard entry into the US Open. At that time, and after beating Dominika Cibulkova in the opening round, Bellis was the youngest American tennis player since Lindsay Davenport in 1991 to advance in Flushing Meadows. Like Gauff, Bellis dominated on the junior circuit and played well beyond her years. Recently, however, Bellis had voiced regret over her decision to forego a full-ride to Stanford University as she’s unfortunately been plagued by injuries. Similar to Gauff, Bellis was touted to be the next big thing in American tennis; while she did climb to a career-high of No. 35 in the world, tennis experts had predicted a higher ranking climb and lengthier career life.
Just two short years ago, Gauff became the youngest junior US Open finalist in the history of the tournament, falling in straight sets to future Roland Garros semi-finalist Anisimova.
Junior tennis players are the sport’s future, and the match quality on the outer courts of the Billie Jean King Tennis Center can rival that of what you might see on Ashe or Armstrong. I know this because I myself was once one of the top American junior female tennis players and had the opportunity to compete against some future great tennis players.
Regardless of how competitive junior matches are, not many casual tennis fans take notice. But think about how many of the sport’s legends broke through after having success on the junior tour first. Few people may be watching, but it’s totally worth it to stop by the outer courts this coming week as you never know whom you might see. In the juniors, I was fortunate enough to play future world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, French Open finalist Sara Errani and Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki, among others. I played against Azarenka in the 2004 U.S. Open juniors. What do I remember most? That she would giggle in the locker room while getting her legs stretched after matches. Even though we were from different countries and had slightly different goals as tennis players, I remember cracking jokes with her and feeling relaxed in her presence. These were nice, innocent moments among teenagers that could have just as easily happened at a beach. But the actual tennis, now that was a different story. I was looking to play in college and then turn pro, while she was heading straight to the pro tour.
That’s a lot of pressure for a young person. I felt the heat when competing in doubles at the now rebranded Legg Mason tournament three weeks before college started at Columbia University in the city of New York; on my side of the net was Madison Brengle, and we were playing Tatiana Poutchek and future 2019 Wimbledon champion Hsieh Su-wei. After running around the side post for a winner that technically went under the net, I avoided colliding with the ball boy and wound up tearing my ACL and meniscus instead, forcing us to retire. I’ll never forget sitting in my surgeon’s office, him telling me that I should never play competitive tennis again. Because of that diagnosis, I played a little bit in college for Columbia, red-shirted and gave it another go at Northwestern as a walk-on graduate student, but couldn’t balance grad work with the demands of college tennis.
Looking back at my experience playing on Court 7 at the US Open, there was more pressure than just looking across the net at Azarenka. I was representing my country, Long Island, Jericho Senior High School and even my clothing sponsor, Fila. I was the only female American junior tennis player at the time to have received a clothing and shoe sponsorship from Fila - and the only player from Long Island competing on the women's ITF pro and junior girls' circuit in top tournaments. Since there is no monetary gain for junior players, it's beyond cool in the mind of a teenager to wear first-class clothes from a brand like Fila. After all, it was what my idol Kim Clijsters was wearing. Could I really become the next Kim Clijsters? As cool as it was to think that, expectations, whether self-imposed or not, can weigh a player down. Tennis is one of the most physically and mentally taxing sports, which can present challenges - particularly for young players who are still maturing in both those areas.
Going into that match against Azarenka, I didn’t believe I could win. As most coaches would say, believing you can win is the first step toward translating that into a reality. I’ll never forget how consistent Azarenka’s groundstrokes were, how hard she clocked the ball, and her overall grit – those aspects of her junior game carried into her professional one. Still, I was just one forehand volley away from taking the second set. But the nerves crept in and eventually, Azarenka won the match in two tight sets. Azarenka won the Australian Open twice and was a finalist at the 2012 and 2013 U.S. Open. She’s still playing and travels on the tour with her young son. Now, it’s still also possible for a mother to take the title in Serena Williams, who could emulate Kim Clijsters and take the title, baby in tow. It’s impossible to tell whether a player, like Gauff, for example, will become an Azarenka, Errani or Lisicki. What’s for sure is that junior competition allows for a unique opportunity to see some of the best tennis players in the making – and they will more than likely grow with time. So, rather than sit up in the nose-bleeds in Ashe and squint to see the top pros, take a walk to the outer courts and look up close at their roots to see where the champion-like seed was planted. Look closely and the next Coco Gauff is about to break through.
Elizabeth Kobak has written and covered the sport extensively, and have represented the United States at the junior US Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open, Italian Open and many more renowned international tennis tournaments. A graduate of Jericho Senior High School and lifelong resident of Old Westbury, she became the No. 1 junior tennis player in the United States and reached a career-high ITF junior ranking of 100 in singles and WTA singles ranking of 570 when I was 18 years old. Most recently, she won all three “triple crown” events on grass in the Open division of the USTA National Championships in singles, doubles and mixed at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, as well as the 30s grass Nationals in singles at the West Side Tennis Club (the original site of the US Open).