Can Coco Gauff Steal Serena Williams Record­?

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Less than two years ago, in 2019, we saw the emergence of a young female tennis star that promised great things. Her name is Coco Gauff, and she reached the fourth round of the women’s tennis open at Wimbledon, knocking out Venus Williams along the way.

In that same year, she also won her first title at the Linz Open in Austria, when she beat the Latvian, Jeļena Ostapenko, 6–3, 1–6, 6–2. At the age of just 15 years and 7 months, she became the youngest women´s player to take a WTA singles title since Nicole Vaidišová of the Czech Republic in 2004.

The Challenge

Despite the Coronavirus pandemic, which decimated sports all over the world last year, and is still having an impact in early 2021, Coco Gauff has been playing some superb tennis, and as sporting events resume again this year, she will have the opportunity to establish something over the great Serena Williams.

She will have the chance to become the second-youngest women´s Grand Slam winner after the Swiss player, Martina Hingis, who won the Australian Grand Slam in 1997 at the age of 16 years and 177 days. Gauff´s chance will also come at the Australian Grand Slam which is due to start on the 8th of February, with the women´s final scheduled to be played on the 20th.

Youngest Women Tennis Players Who Made Names for Themselves

Coco Gauff was born on the 13th of March 2004. If she can battle her way through to final, she will still be a 16-year-old, and if she can win the trophy, it will make her the second-youngest winner, coincidentally of the same Grand Slam that Hingis won – the Australian Open.

The clock says she cannot leapfrog Hingis, but she can pass Serena, and that in itself would be a special achievement. Serena´s first Grand Slam was the American Open in 1999. She wasn’t the youngest woman to win it. The list is as follows:

  • 1st – Tracy Austin who won it in 1979 at the age of 16 years, 8 months and 16 days
  • 2nd – Martina Hingis who won it in 1997 at the age of 16 years, 10 months and 26 days
  • 3rd – Monica Seles who won it in 1991 at the age of 17 years, 8 months and 24 days
  • 4th – Serena Williams who won it in 1999 at the age of 17 years, 11 months and 4 days

In theory, Coco Gauff could overtake Williams in the youngest winners stakes, and again become the second-youngest winner – this time of the US Grand Slam. But we´re getting ahead of ourselves. The big one for young Coco is to win the Australian Grand Slam next month.

We Wish Her Well

Coco is not going to have an easy ride. Her opening game is against Serena´s sister Venus. If she is to progress and pull off the near-impossible, she could have to face Serena, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, and tournament favourite – Ashleigh Barty, not forgetting the young Pole, Iga Świątek, who at 19 years old was the youngest ever French Grand Slam winner.

But Coco is in with a chance, albeit slim, and we wish her well.