14-year-old Cori “Coco” Gauff will make her US Open debut later this month in New York after the tournament announced their wild cards for the main and qualifying draws on Tuesday.
The Florida native has had an illustrious Junior career so far, but she’ll now get to see just how close her game is to the very best on the WTA tour. Gauff ‘s run at Roland Garros was eye-opening for tennis fans across the world after she became the youngest winner in 25 years.
Gauff had a shot at the main draw wildcard with the winner of the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18 National Championships receiving one, but fell to eventual champion and wild card winner Whitney Osuigwe in the semifinals.
Gauff has only played two ITF professional tournaments, so playing on the big stage in New York will definitely be a huge step up from what she’s used to seeing. At just 14 years old she’s exceeded expectations on the Junior circuit, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see her hold her own against WTA tour level players.
Her aggressive style of play on the hard courts should translate well on the big stage. She has the kind of power that can hit an opponent right off the court. Last year, Gauff reached the finals of the US Open girls championships before losing to Amanda Anisimova, who was awarded a main draw wild card today.
We’ve seen up and coming Americans announce their presence at the US Open like Anisimova last year, and Cici Bellis in 2014. Gauff can undoubtedly be the next one to do so, but if not this year she has plenty of time in the coming years.
US Open qualifying gets underway on Tuesday, August, 21st. Other qualifying wild card recipients include Kayla Day, Caty Mcnally, Ashley Kratzer, Ann Li, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Danielle Lao, Gail Brodsky, and Jessica Pegula.
