Coco Gauff, a Precocious Talent

Coco Gauff is an extraordinary talent. At only 17 years old, she has two WTA titles to her name and a career high ranking of #25, despite tournament restrictions due to her age. She is also an accomplished doubles player, making the quarterfinals of the Australian Open twice with fellow American, Caty McNally.

Background

Coco Gauff was born on the 13th of March in 2004. At just ten years of age, she began training at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy in France, where she still trains to this day.

Coco Gauff’s is coached by both her father, and Jean-Christophe Faurel, a former professional ATP player from France.

Style of play

Gauff’s game is characterized by high power, athleticism, and all-court speed. Her backhand, especially, is a real weapon and her most technically sound shot. Gauff’s serve has been a weakness in the past, and is capable of resulting in a number of double faults under pressure. If she can tidy up this aspect of her game, she can expect to rocket up the rankings.

So far in 2021, the American has had a relatively successful year. At the Australian Open, she was not able to match her results from the previous year, losing in the 2nd round to Top 10 stalwart Elina Svitolina. After a reasonable showing in the hard court season, she has found some great form on the clay, reaching her first semifinal at a WTA 1000 event in Rome. She followed that up by winning both singles and doubles events at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, Italy.

Gauff has proven with her performances that she is a force to reckon with on the WTA tour. With wins over players of the likes of Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and top ten player Aryna Sabalenka, we will not be surprised if she is able to be in the Top 10 or challenge for Majors in the near future. We at LWOT expect her to be in the Top 20 by the end of the year.

Main Photo from Getty.