Just nine minutes into her first press conference after winning a major championship, Coco Gauff was asked about her aspirations in the sport. Her response was immediate and unwavering.
“I want to be the greatest,” she stated calmly. “My dad told me I could do this when I was 8. Of course, you don`t truly believe it then. I`m still not 100% confident. But you have to speak things into existence. You never know what might happen.”
This was back in 2019. Gauff, only 15 at the time, had just stunned her childhood idol, seven-time major winner Venus Williams, on Wimbledon`s Centre Court. A year after her notable junior victory at the French Open and months after securing her first WTA Tour win, Gauff entered Wimbledon as a wild card in the qualifying rounds. While relatively unknown to casual fans, tennis insiders had long been talking about her potential.
Her win over Williams changed everything; suddenly, everyone knew who she was. “Cocomania,” as it was soon called, erupted, and the excitement grew with each subsequent victory. By the end of her memorable fourth-round run at the All England Club, the belief in her potential greatness became widespread.
The shift from a 15-year-old with little pressure to an overnight sensation expected to win constantly was challenging. Despite making steady progress and reaching the 2022 French Open final, it took Gauff four more years to clinch her first major title at the US Open in 2023. Following that, five consecutive Grand Slams passed without her making another final appearance.
Her greatness was evident, highlighted by her 2024 WTA Finals win and consecutive finalist finishes in the two major clay court tournaments leading up to the French Open. However, she still needed to go further to potentially achieve her ultimate goal of becoming the greatest.
She took a significant step forward in Paris over the recent fortnight. Gauff, seeded second, dominated the tournament, dropping just one set before the final. She secured the French Open title on Saturday with a resilient comeback victory against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, winning 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in a match lasting two hours and 38 minutes. Upon winning, she collapsed onto the clay court, covering her mouth in disbelief, tears streaming down her face as she awaited the trophy presentation.
It remains uncertain if Gauff, still only 21, will ultimately achieve her incredibly ambitious childhood goal – one that would place her among legendary single-name icons like Serena, Novak, Roger, and Rafa. However, with her victory at Roland Garros, coinciding with what feels like the beginning of her prime, she has firmly established herself as one of the sport`s current greats.
“She has so many [major titles] ahead of her,” commented 18-time Slam champion Chris Evert during the post-match broadcast. “We saw that at 15 years old. We saw when she beat Venus at Wimbledon. We thought, `This girl`s going to be winning 10, 12, 14 major titles.` She`s got the game and if she can stay healthy … She just loves the game and she`s going to be around for a long, long time winning majors.”
Gauff`s name is already appearing alongside some of tennis`s historical greats. Saturday`s win marked her 27th match victory at Roland Garros, placing her in a tie with Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario for the fourth-most wins in the Open era for a woman before turning 22. Her semifinal win surpassed Serena Williams for the second-most by an American woman in the same category, trailing only Chris Evert, who claimed seven French Open titles.
She also became the first American to win the title at Roland Garros in a decade, since Serena Williams`s victory. Furthermore, she is just the fifth American woman in the Open era to secure multiple Grand Slam titles by the age of 21 or younger, joining an exclusive list including Serena, Evert, Venus Williams, and Tracy Austin.
Among those who quickly congratulated her on social media were Michelle Obama and Billie Jean King. Spike Lee, who was watching courtside, was the first person she embraced after the match.
However, Gauff wasn`t focused on history or her increasing fame during Saturday`s final. She also wasn`t dwelling on her previous matches against Sabalenka, including her victory over her in the 2023 US Open final. Instead, Gauff vividly recalled the feeling of losing the 2022 French Open final on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Consequently, after losing the lengthy one-hour-and-eighteen-minute first set in a tiebreak, Gauff knew what was needed and showed no visible signs of frustration or distress. She was determined not to miss this chance again and took control masterfully and decisively. Gauff needed only 33 minutes to win the second set, dominating with her strong serve, aggressive returns, and impressive speed. Yet, perhaps most remarkable was her composure and resolve under pressure.
She`s so much more mature than a 21-year-old.
Former world No. 1 and 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki made this observation on the broadcast after the match.
Sabalenka, unable to hide her disappointment post-match, praised Gauff during her on-court speech, calling her a “fighter and a hard worker.” For Gauff, the victory was the culmination of three years of effort and learning since her previous final appearance.
“I just remembered, you know, that ceremony when Iga [Swiatek] won,” Gauff recounted on Saturday. “I just remembered trying to take it all in and pay attention to every detail and just feel like I wanted that experience for myself. So when the anthem got played, I vividly remember watching her, pretty emotional when the Polish anthem got played. I was, like, `Wow, this is such a cool moment.` So when the anthem got played today, I kind of had those reflections.”
Gauff`s emotional maturity and fighting spirit were evident throughout the clay court season, where she defeated multiple major champions and top-10 players, including Iga Swiatek, Emma Raducanu, Zheng Qinwen, and Mirra Andreeva (twice). This resolve was also on display during her Roland Garros run. She required three sets to overcome fellow American Madison Keys, the reigning Australian Open champion, after dropping the first set in a tiebreak.
In the semifinals, she faced Lois Boisson, the unexpected French rising star, and had to contend with the entire stadium supporting her opponent. Gauff limited Boisson, who had previously defeated higher seeds like No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Andreeva in Paris, to a mere three games in total.
“She was really solid, and I couldn`t play my game today because she was just too good,” Boisson acknowledged on Thursday.
While Gauff maintains her No. 2 ranking, trailing Sabalenka by 3,470 points, she will have opportunities to reduce that gap over the summer, starting with the upcoming grass-court season. She is currently entered in the Berlin tournament next week but stated on Saturday she was unsure if she would compete. Although Gauff has never advanced beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon – matching her debut run in 2021 and repeating it in 2024 – she will undoubtedly aim to build on her momentum at the All England Club this year.
Following the grass season, she will shift her focus to the hard-court summer series and the US Open, where she will be under intense scrutiny from the home crowd and New York media. However, she has repeatedly shown her ability to handle pressure and expectations, possessing both the game and the mental fortitude required. Moments after posing with her trophy before a crowd of photographers, Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, inquired about her next goal.
“Hopefully another one,” Gauff replied. “Yeah, definitely another one. But for now, just enjoying this one and I`m just glad to add another title to my résumé.”
Now, nearly six years after her striking and promising entry into the tennis world, Gauff displays the same confidence, self-belief, and joyful enthusiasm she had then. She remains equally, if not more, dedicated to her ambition of achieving greatness. Crucially, time has also given her something perhaps even more valuable for reaching that goal: perspective.
When asked on Thursday, after reaching the final, how she managed to avoid being overwhelmed by the situation`s significance, she again answered without hesitation.
“I think just realizing how minuscule it is,” Gauff said. “Like everybody is dealing with way bigger things in life than losing a final … I`m sure there are hundreds of players that would kill to win or lose a final, so just knowing that, makes me realize how lucky and privileged I am to be in this position.
“At first I thought it would be the end of the world if I lost, and you know, the sun still rose the next day. So knowing, regardless of the result, the sun will still rise.”
