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Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open women’s title in 2023. Gauff became only the third American teenager to win the national women’s title four years after she rose to fame in the sport by beating Venus Williams, one of her childhood idols, at the Wimbledon Championships when Gaff was just 15 years old.

When Gauff was barely school age she held a tennis racket (球拍) and told her parents that she wanted to be the best player in the world. By the time Gauff was seven, she was training with a tennis professional two hours a day, several days a week. Her father suggested that the family move from Atlanta to Delray Beach, Florida, home to some of the best tennis training camps in the world. At 13, Gauff was the youngest U.S. Open junior girls finalist in history; at 14, she became one of the youngest winners of the French Open junior girls tournament.

The win against Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon was a bit of a dreamy moment for both players. Gauff was 15; Williams was 39. Gauff beat Williams in straight sets in a stunning upset. When the competitors met at the net for the traditional handshake, Gauff tried to make the moment special. “I was just telling her thank you for everything she’s done for the sport,” Gauff said at the time.

Despite her age, Gauff demonstrated skills that both set her apart and made her worthy of being mentioned with other tennis genius, including Tracy Austin, Jennifer Capriati, and Andrea Jaeger. Yet her professional career has not been without its setbacks. Since beating Williams in the first round at Wimbledon, she has found herself knocked out in the first round at the 2022 Australian Open and at Wimbledon in 2023. Still, Gauff has shown consistent improvement in her game on the world stage.