Coco Gauff had to endure her fair share of critics who slammed her performances during the first half of 2023. Her first-round exit at Wimbledon, followed by a couple of disappointing performances, led many to write her off as a contender for major grand slams.
However, the 19-year-old diminutive Florida native proved naysayers wrong with aplomb by winning her first grand slam title at the US Open. Her stock value immediately rose by leaps and bounds and a huge wave of supporters championed the teenager. Critics continue to ring in a chorus of denunciation, but a fellow American player believes all the hate holds no real ground and that Coco will succeed again.
Christropher Eubanks hails Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff censured her critics’ disapproval of her by lambasting them during her winner’s speech at the Flushing Meadows. “To those who thought they were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it. And now I’m really burning so bright right now,” she said to much applause from the home crowd.
Christopher Eubanks, a fellow American tennis player who has also faced criticism over his game, took the chance to share his thoughts on Coco Gauff and her future in tennis. He talked about how Coco had silenced her haters but conceded that no matter how big one achieved in the field of play, critics would continue to find fault.
“She has finally proved the naysayers wrong, some said that she would never win a Grand Slam. She’s been able to do that, now it’s about how many she will get,” he said on the Tennis Channel.
“So there’s still going to be outside expectations, there’s still going to be people saying that she can never get more than one or the people doubting the validity of the US Open run,” he said.
“So there’s still going to be outside expectations, there’s still going to be people saying that she can never get more than one or the people doubting the validity of the US Open run.”
Coco Gauff has had a spectacular second half of the season, where she won the Masters 1000 Cincinnati Open along with her maiden grand slam. Eubanks felt ‘sky was the limit’ for her and predicted a bright future for the young gal.
“I think the sky’s the limit. We have seen players before who kinda get their run and we’ve seen Iga be so dominant on clay. We’ve seen players who have favourite surfaces or maybe struggle at other times.
“But not her, she can play on any surface. She can play against any opponent, in any condition, so that poses the opportunity for her to win a lot of more tournaments and the sky’s the limit,” he added.
Coco Gauff’s brilliant performances this year
Coco Gauff began the year by showcasing why she was a strong contender for major titles when she won the Auckland Open by defeating Rebeka Masarova in straight sets. Her win was followed by a fourth-round exit at the 2023 Australian Open, a loss that set in motion a series of disappointing results for the American, which culminated with a first-round loss to Sophia Kenin at Wimbledon.
This was a turning point in Coco’s fortunes and she reworked her mindset and strategy to spring back to form. She first defeated Maria Sakkari to win the WTA 500 Washington Open in August, which was followed by an even bigger win in Cincinnati by Karoline Muchova in the final.
Coco had found her mojo again and capped off her winning run with her biggest success to date, when she defeated world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to lift the US Open trophy. She became the youngest teenager to achieve the feat since Serena Williams in 1999 and rose to a career-high ranking of world no. 3.
Coco Gauff then played in the China Open and WTA Finals, where she reached the latter stages of the tournament before bowing out.
On the doubles front, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are currently world no. 1 and have won the Miami Open together.
What are your opinions on Coco Gauff’s immense success achieved in 2023? Let us know in the comments section below.
