The US Open is Gauff’s crowning moment, fulfilling her great promise

Following in the footsteps of Serena Williams, Coco Gauff’s US Open title is not just a championship, but the realization of her destiny.

By Greg Garber

When Coco Gauff was 12 years old, she won the 12-under Junior Orange Bowl title, joining Steffi Graf (1981), Monica Seles (1985) and Jennifer Capriati (1986). Between them, those marquee players went on to win 34 Grand Slam singles titles.

Gauff had already met Serena three times by the time she won the prestigious junior event and trained twice with her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, in France. Asked about her goals, she replied simply, “I want to be the greatest of all time.”