Taylor Townsend is on cloud 9 at the moment. She began the US Open swing in style, winning the Citi Open in Washington. Partnering with Zhang Shuai, the American star defeated Caroline Dolehide and Sofia Kenin in the finals. While it was the season’s third doubles title for Townsend, she has been performing consistently on that front. As a result, she achieved a new milestone in her career, reaching the top spot in the WTA rankings chart. Subsequently, she received a heartfelt tribute from her compatriot, Coco Gauff.

Townsend shares a wonderful bond with the 21-year-old American star and the two even played together in the WTA doubles circuit. Gauff is currently in Montreal to participate in the Canadian Open. Ahead of the event, she was involved in a pre-tournament interview where she was asked to comment about Townsend reaching the Number 1 ranking in doubles.

Gauff replied, “Yeah, it’s super cool. Well, I’ve known Taylor for a long long time and I always root for her and uh I was really happy to see. I’ve always considered her, um, one of the best doubles players, probably right there with Siniakova, like the best on tour. So, it’s great to see that ranking kind of match where, um, I think a lot of players see her as.”

Further, she went on to add, “And she yeah, she deserves it. There’s she deserves it all. And I played with her and I don’t think I helped that much because I think we lost in the quarters and I didn’t play that well with her. But um, yeah, I think she’s going to hopefully stay there for a long time and her and Katerina are a great team together and I’m really proud of her.”

Interestingly, Gauff partnered with Townsend at the Madrid Open last year. The two went on to reach the quarterfinals there and fell short of expectations. However, Townsend has been on a rampaging form this year and won the Australian Open doubles title with Siniakova. Thus, her Number 1 ranking is very well deserved and comes just at the right time ahead of the US Open.

However, she has had to go through some tough times to reach the peak. After becoming the World Number 1 in doubles, Townsend opened up about a dark chapter in her career.

When Taylor Townsend felt down and out

Success comes at a price, it is often said. The case is no different for Townsend, who has had to deal with the lack of a body positivity movement during her childhood. Despite being a top-ranked junior player, Townsend had her funding revoked by the USTA, who advised her to focus on her fitness.

Recalling that incident, Townsend said, “I have had to go through some of the hardest struggles and the most personal struggles in the public eye. Some really very kind of intimate topics that had to be a topic of conversation literally around the world as a child and having to defend myself as a kid.”

She also added, “There hasn’t been anyone who has gone through what I went through since I went through it, so I think things have changed a little bit—which is great, right? When I was going through the whole body image thing, there was no body positivity movement. That didn’t exist.”

Nonetheless, Townsend has achieved what she deserves and will go all out in the upcoming tournaments. Can she win the US Open coming up next month? Let us know your views in the comments below.