Coco Gauff reached her eighth WTA final as a teenager and emulated another feat of her idol Serena Williams.
Goff doesn’t like comparisons to Williams, but when she matches so many of the things Serena does, it’s hard not to. Gauff has been on the WTA Tour for five years and although she is now a seasoned pro, she is still officially a teenager.
It’s crazy to think about, but more importantly, she’s a very successful teenager. Gauff defeated compatriot Emma Navarro in Auckland to reach her eighth WTA final.
Since 2000, the only American to do that as a teenager was Serena Williams, and the country has produced many great players since then.
We also saw a couple of great teenagers from this country, but again, Gauff was only accompanied by Serena Williams, who spoke volumes about how strong she just was.
So even though she doesn’t like being compared to Williams, she gets compared because she is so similar to Williams. She’s obviously her own player with a unique style and trajectory, but the similarities are very interesting.
Time will tell if Goff ever reaches a similar level, as the standard set by Williams seems impossible to reach. After all, she is the greatest female tennis player of all time, and Gauff only recently won her maiden Grand Slam.
She’s very hungry, though, and is actively chasing a second major trophy. Her first chance to do that will come soon at the Australian Open, but first, it’s time to face Elina Svitolina in the ASB Classic Auckland final.
The Ukrainian will be looking to add another trophy to her collection, while Gauff will be hoping to successfully defend the trophy she won last year and extend her winning streak in New Zealand to ten matches.