Tennis

Teenager Coco Gauff comes from a set down to win US Open title

19-year-old became the first American teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999

Coco Gauff of the United States drops on the court after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to win the US Open women's singles title in New York. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

Sat Sep 9 2023 - 23:39

Coco Gauff’s day of destiny arrived as she came from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka and win the US Open.

The 19-year-old became the first American teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.

Williams’s final farewell to tennis at the same championships last year left a colossal void in tennis in the US.

So it felt only natural that Gauff, the heir apparent to the 23-time Grand Slam winner, stepped into her shoes 12 months later.

READ MORE

Sabalenka will be the new world number one on Monday after a remarkably consistent year in which she won the Australian Open and reached the semi-finals in Paris and at Wimbledon.

But that will be scant consolation for the 25-year-old from Belarus after she put herself in position to win her second Grand Slam title, only to fold as Gauff claimed her first, thrilling a raucous crowd with a memorable 2-6 6-3 6-2 victory.

Gauff’s incredible powers of defence were beginning to look like the defining factor in the match and she maintained her momentum with an immediate break of the Sabalenka serve to start the deciding set.

Much has been made of the vulnerability of the American’s forehand but Sabalenka’s tendency for wild shots off that side was costing her dearly.

The second seed took a medical timeout for treatment to her left thigh after finally getting on the board in the fifth game of the set, and the delay gave Gauff unwelcome time to think.

A loose service game gave Sabalenka a way back in but Gauff responded brilliantly with another break and closed out a 2-6 6-3 6-2 victory in stunning fashion.

LATEST STORIES