With the 19-year-old Coco Gauff winning her first Grand Slam title in US Open 2023, it undoubtedly loomed as an emotional moment for her. However, a video emerging on social media of a young Gauff in the stands made the win on Saturday against Aryna Sabalenka even more worth it.
The teenage prodigy American Gauff won her maiden Grand Slam singles championship at the US Open on September 9. Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling three-set encounter with an incredible comeback. It took the 19-year-old a couple of hours to win the match by a scoreline of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The victory also made Gauff the third American teenager to win the US Open women's final, joining the likes of Tracy Austin, who accomplished the feat in 1979 and Serena Williams did it in 1999. As a result, US Open's official account on X (formerly known as Twitter) shared a clip of Gauff as a young girl in the stands.
"It's been a long journey to this point" - Coco Gauff
In a media interaction after the match, Gauff said it's been a pleasure to make her country proud and believes there is still scope for improvement. As quoted by Reuters, she said:
"I am so happy I could make this country proud. It's been difficult, it's been a long journey to this point. I wasn't a fully developed player, and I still think I have a lot of development to go at that moment. I think people were putting a lot of pressure on me to win. Now I just realize that I just need to go out there and try my best."
Gauff also became the first teenager to feature in a US Open final since Serena Williams did so in 2001.
