She came, she saw, she conquered, and she created history! It’s not that she had won no titles before. Coco Gauff indeed had. But what made the 2023 US Open win exceptional, apart from it being her maiden Grand Slam triumph? From crashing out in Round 1 of Wimbledon barely two months ago to battering down the final barrier at the Arthur Ashe Stadium to become a champion, what Gauff pulled off is the stuff of legends—and no wonder she is being lauded across the board by luminaries helming other disciplines!

Facing off against a top-form second seed, Aryna Sabalenka, a pressured sixth-seed Gauff went into the finals as both the underdog and the crowd favorite. The cards appeared stacked against her from the get-go. She lost the first set. But the fiery teen had something that day that the Belarusian did not – pure hunger. The second set saw Coco mount a Williams-style comeback, and she clinched the third set too. Winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, she became the youngest US Open singles title winner since Serena Williams accomplished it at age seventeen, twenty-four years ago. Game recognizes game, and since the Gauff has been inundated with praise – but one person has stood out from the lot.

Coco Gauff: From Grand Slam victory to celebrity praise

The crowd at the largest tennis stadium in the world included well-known and recognizable names. Mike Tyson, the youngest Heavyweight boxing champion in the world and the father of a budding tennis star, was there to cheer Coco Gauff on her splendid achievement. His daughter Milan, incidentally, received training from the person who had once trained both Serena Williams and Coco Gauff, Patrick Mouratoglou. A long-time supporter of the teen, Tyson congratulated Gauff through his X account as well. But he was hardly alone in sharing his wishes.

Miami Heat assistant coach and 3-time Emmy Award winner Caron Butler joined others in lauding Gauff too. He said, “Today is just a beautiful day… Congratulations, #CoCo Coach Prime influence! Just a great day for #TheCulture.” It’s hard to disagree with what he said. Floyd Mayweather Jr.‘s close confidant and Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe certainly couldn’t, as he tagged a response to Butler’s post, “Yessir.“

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For a tennis player who debuted in 2018 at age fourteen, success, surprisingly, first came through her doubles stint. Apart from the eight doubles titles she won, Coco Gauff reached the number-one spot in last year’s doubles ranking. Now that she has a Grand Slam under her belt, expectations would be high as she prepares for the first of the big four tournaments next year.

Do you think it’s the dawn of a new era in US tennis? Will Coco Gauff manage a successful bid to dethrone Sabalenka from the top-ranking spot too? Share your thoughts and views with us in the comments below!

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