After years of dominance from Serena and Venus Williams, there seemed to be a downfall in American tennis. But with the rise of promising talents like Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton, it seems like finally it has taken its path for a rebirth. Both of them have stunned the world with some of their remarkable performances this year. Can they bring glory to American tennis in 2024? Well, the 63-year-old American coach has some advice for the rising stars.

Eric Riley has coached some of the top-ranked players in the tennis world. His experience on the court has brought success to the careers of many superstars in the game. Coco Gauff is only 19 years old and Ben Shelton is 21. They have already tasted success at a higher level, but with success comes expectations. How will they be able to cope with the rising pressure and improve their games? Eric Riley has all the answers.

Coco Gauf and Ben Shelton got a piece of advice straight from the horse’s mouth

Coco Gauff had an outstanding season this year, winning her maiden Grand Slam title. Whereas, Ben Shelton also got the taste of his first title at the Japan Open earlier this year. Both the Americans had a stellar run in the US Open 2023. What’s next? As of now, they are training hard to continue from where they had left off in the previous season. Next season is going to be action-packed with the Paris Olympics happening in the same year. Before the important 2024 begins, the renowned coach has some words of advice. 

Well, Riley says he has the same message for both of them. He said, ‘Both had their break while young so now, from this day forward, the journey does not get easier. They must enjoy the journey. The expectations, the pressure is now, more than ever, immense and gets to be a difficult thing to manage. More pressure on them both publicly and privately. You have people spending more and more time training just to beat them.”

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Predicting the future struggles, Riley continued, “After their 2023 success, the road ahead is now tougher for them. Some players will take their foot off the gas when they have this kind of breakthrough. Coco and Ben must roll up their sleeves and work on their weaknesses.‘

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Riley also said that Shelton will have an added advantage here since his father has already been a pro player, and he will surely get to learn from his experiences. Coco Gauff on the other hand has already broken quite a few records, and she’d love to hold the momentum and add a few next season as well.

Coco Gauff had one of the biggest seasons of her career so far in 2023

The 19-year-old had already bagged 6 WTA singles titles including a major title in the US Open, 2023. With this maiden triumph at the majors, she has become the first teenager to win the US Open in this century. Serena Williams did it in 1999. Coco Gauff is currently the only teen in the WTA Top 40 and also the first American teenager to break into the Top 3 after Venus Williams.

That’s not all, her on-the-field heroics got reflected off-the-field as well. She has now become the highest-paid woman athlete in the world by making $23 M in 2023. She’s only 19! Surely there is more to come shortly. Now that Riley has provided his tough advice, Gauff and Shelton will surely look to be more focused. 

That being said, such advice coming from former tennis legends is actually good for the two players. It means that they are important, it means that they have reached a place where others want to go. However, with consistent performance, Ben Shelton and Coco Gauff will surely rise higher in the upcoming season. What do you think?

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