Coco Gauff had in many ways an extraordinary season in 2022; the teenager had quite the breakthrough season and reached her first Slam final at Roland Garros, as well as a career high ranked of #4. After starting the year #22, she finished #7 and played in the WTA Finals, where she looked a bit spent and didn’t win a single set.
With all that said, looking back her 38-23 record is somewhat disappointing, as well as the fact that Roland Garros was the only tournament final she reached all year. She still has only 2 smaller titles in her career despite going as high as #4 and has shown quite some difficulty in backing up wins and going all the way. With that said, the main thing stopping her from having an even better season was her complete inability to pose any resistence against Iga Swiatek. She lost all 5 matches between the pair in 2022, all 10 sets and only 23 games overall, an average of 2,3 per set. She was completely outplayed in every single encounter and it’s something she’ll absolutely have to find a solution to if she’s to have any success in 2023, as Swiatek is sure to remain at the top, competing for every Slam.
With all that said, 2022 was still a really positive season for Gauff, with the final at Roland Garros the highlight but several other decent results as well. In 2023, she’ll be looking to make any further progress and has to be considered a serious candidate to win a Slam. Inconsistent remains a problem, but we’re talking about a player who’s theoretically yet to reach her peak.
It’s a safe bet that Gauff, bar injury, will remain a consistent fixture in the top 10, it simply remains to be seen whether she can take the next step and aim for Slam titles and be a real challenger to Iga Swiatek. For all the great things she’s already done at such a young age, she struggles to go really deep in tournaments, with the Roland Garros final being the only big final she’s ever played; at WTA 1000 level she’s yet to even reach a final.
No matter what happens next, Coco Gauff had an excellent breakthrough season in 2022 and will be the one to keep and eye on this year and going forward in general.
