Coco Gauff and her team proudly sport personalized t-shirts to celebrate her maiden Grand Slam title win at the 2023 US Open.
Gauff defeated World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in just over two hours at the Arthur Ashe Stadium to become the first American teenager to claim a Grand Slam singles title this century.
Prior to this edition of the New York Major, the last American teenager to secure the Slam was Serena Williams, who achieved this feat at the 1999 US Open, when she was just 17 years old.
Gauff also became the fourth American teenager to secure a Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era. This exclusive club includes legendary players such as Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, and Serena Williams.
Following her win, Coco Gauff’s team presented her with a personalized t-shirt to wear which read:
“Call me C̶o̶c̶o̶ Champion.”
Gauff’s parents were also seen donning the same t-shirts.
With her first Grand Slam title in the bag, Gauff boasts an impressive win/loss record of 16-0 in the United States since the commencement of the summer of 2023. She secured her first WTA 500 title at the Citi Open and followed it up by winning her maiden WTA 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open.
Her sole defeat during the North American hardcourt swing came in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Canadian Open in Montreal, where she faced compatriot and the eventual champion, Jessica Pegula.
Coco Gauff to rise to World No. 3 after US Open title
Coco Gauff will rise to third place in the WTA rankings on Monday, September 11, marking her career-best ranking. The achievement comes as a result of the 2,000 points she earned from her remarkable title victory at the 2023 US Open.
The push in the rankings will crown the 19-year-old as the new American No. 1, surpassing Jessica Pegula. Consequently, Pegula’s ranking will drop to No. 5 in the upcoming week, while former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina will maintain her position as World No. 4.
Coco Gauff currently holds 6,165 ranking points, which is significantly lower than the impressive 8,195 points accumulated by the new World No. 2 Iga Swiatek. Aryna Sabalenka, on the other hand, surpasses Swiatek by a huge margin of over 1,000 ranking points, boasting an impressive total of 9,266 points.
Marketa Vondrousova, Ons Jabeur, Karolina Muchova, Maria Sakkari, and Caroline Garcia round out the remaining spots in the top 10 of the WTA rankings.