NEW YORK : American tennis is in good hands with Coco Gauff, U.S. Open tournament director Stacey Allaster has told Reuters as the charismatic teen looks to end her breakthrough year on a high.Gauff mounted a fierce comeback to beat Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S.
Open final, claiming her first Grand Slam title and her place in American tennis royalty.The triumph came amid a 16-match winning streak for Gauff that ended in the China Open semi-final last month at the hands of old foe Iga Swiatek of Poland."The next generation has arrived and stood on the shoulders of the great Serena Williams and Venus Williams," said Allaster, the chief executive, Professional Tennis, with the USTA."It feels like she's been around for a long time.
She's only 19... She is special. She is humble and kind, she's hardworking. And she is very, very focused on winning."The 19-year-old proved as captivating to fans as the idols who inspired her growing up as 3.4 million viewers tuned in for the U.S.
Open final on ESPN, making it the most-watched major women's championship ever on the network.The moment was made all the sweeter for Allaster, the former WTA head who won the Women's Sports Foundation's Billie Jean King Leadership Award this year after the U.S.