“I want to be the greatest of all time,” A 12-year-0ld, budding tennis player, Coco Gauff told ESPN, more than eight years ago. It’s not uncommon for kids in sports to dream of huge success while growing up. But only a few achieve their goals, eventually. The now-21-year-old WTA pro is on the path to justify what she said back in 2017. At an age where most adults are still studying in college or thinking about what they would take up as a profession, the World No.2 has won two majors already. She became the youngest teenager, aged 19, back in 2023 after her idol Serena Williams’ 1999 feat, to win the US Open. And last week, Gauff captured her second Grand Slam at the 2025 French Open. Yet, a tennis insider curiously believes that Gauff is “underrated”. Why?

Remember how Gauff reacted the moment she realized she had won her maiden Roland Garros title? Playing against World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, she held her nerves till the deciding set’s culmination. After losing the first set 5-7, she came back and levelled the score by snatching the second set 6-2. In the final moments of the summit clash, she was leading 5-4 (Ad-in), when Sabalenka hit a backhand that landed outside the line. Next thing we saw, Gauff being in complete disbelief. She tried to soak in the feelings of victory while controlling her tears. The joy also reflected her nature of a young kid who gets emotional – despite being a seasoned player now. And who can forget the way she celebrated her triumph with the ball kids? That was heartwarming, right?

Gestures like these make Gauff very unique to her counterparts at the moment. In an interaction with former American ATP pro Andy Roddick, tennis insider and journalist Jon Wertheim threw spotlight on this aspect of the 21-year-old. Marveling at Gauff’s personality, he said, “I think somehow Coco (Gauff) remains in a weird way, I mean this as a compliment, underrated.”

Explaining his point, he added, “She is a treasure, and she is so cool and wise, and precociously adult, and yet she has this childlike sensibility and there’s no cynicism. And oh yeah, she’s also won two majors and she’s like, would be a college junior.”

But guess what? Sometimes age is just a number. And Gauff, at 21, is showing it consistently through her outstanding accomplishments. Now that she’s turned her French Open dream into a reality, it’s time to target the next Grand Slam. Contrary to her smooth ride on clay, the American has found it hard, in recent years, to establish a friendly connection with grass. Especially at the Wimbledon. However, it appears the new queen of Paris has got a plan ready this time.

Coco Gauff reveals her grass strategy for the Wimbledon

Since making her event debut at the Wimbledon, in 2019, Coco Gauff has failed to impress. Unlike other slams, she’s yet to even reach the QF stage at the All England Club. Her best run includes reaching the fourth round. So what’s going on in her mind regarding the upcoming challenge on a court that’s not clay?

In an interaction with Vogue, dated June 9, the 21-year-old revealed, “Grass has been trial and error for me. The biggest thing, I think, is just to be more aggressive.” Reflecting on the differences between surfaces, she added, “On clay, you have a little more time; you can slide, you can use the height of the ball’s bounce a bit more. That’s less so on grass.”

So the main focus this time will be on playing “more aggressively… and I want to serve a lot bigger.” In her last three appearances at the Wimbledon (2022, 2023, and 2024), Gauff’s been to the third round, first round, and fourth round. However, looking at her French Open success, 18-time slam champion Chris Evert thinks she can turn fortunes in her favor on grass.

In fact, Evert has predicted that Coco’s “going to win all of them (majors), yeah; for sure, she can win on every surface. She has won on clay and on hard. I can definitely see that she can win Wimbledon.” Do you also think the same? Let us know in the comments below.