The youngest American grand slam finalist since Serena Williams is one win away from a breakthrough major championship that’s been years in the makingOn Thursday afternoon, Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff defeated Italy’s Martina Trevisan in straight sets in the French Open semi-finals. In doing so, she racked up several superlatives, becoming, most notably, the youngest grand slam finalist in almost 20 years and the youngest American to reach a major final since her idol, Serena Williams, collected the first of her 23 grand slam titles at the 1999 US Open.Gauff advanced to Saturday’s final against Poland’s Iga Świątek, the in-form world No 1 and winner of 34 straight matches, with even bigger history in the offing. But the development is hardly...
Two years on from her grand slam breakthrough, the American is winning tournaments and improving her gameNot too long after Coco Gauff pulled off one of the best wins of her career, against the world No 4 Aryna Sabalenka in Rome this month, she was asked to reflect on the progress she has made since her breakthrough in the summer of 2019. Gauff responded without hesitation. She was absolutely happy with it, she said, but that she would not be satisfied until she reached her ultimate goal. Then she shrugged.“Especially during that time people were saying: ‘It’s a fluke, it will never happen again,’” she said. “I think I’ve proved all those people wrong. I’m going to continue to prove...
The two young stars’ criticisms of police brutality after George Floyd’s killing were brave in a culture uneasy with black athletes speaking outA couple of weeks ago Naomi Osaka decided that it was time to eradicate her shyness once and for all. It was exhausting, she said, missing out on moments because she was too terrified to speak in the presence of people she admired. Her options for socialising limited in quarantine, she set up a series of interviews with players. Before long, fellow players Frances Tiafoe, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Gaël Monfils and Iga Swiatek were her subjects. “I’m coming for every tennis reporter’s neck,” she said.On Saturday afternoon Osaka’s new reporting skills were put to use on Instagram as a...