US Open 2023: Teen tennis star Coco Gauff wins her first Grand Slam final
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"I'm burning so bright right now" Coco Gauff wins her first Grand Slam final
American teenager Coco Gauff has won the US Open tournament for the first time.
The 19-year-old beat Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka in a nail-biting final.
The result means she is the youngest American - man or woman - to reach her home Grand Slam final since Serena Williams in 1999.
Speaking after the match, Gauff took a moment to send a message to those who had doubted her, saying "To those who thought you were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it. I'm burning so bright right now."
Like Wimbledon, the US Open is one of four major tennis tournaments called Grand Slams which happen each year - the other two being the French Open and the Australian Open.
Find out more about the incredible Coco below.
Who is Coco Gauff?
Gauff won the French Open girls title in 2018
Cori Gauff, who's nicknamed "Coco", made headlines when she became the youngest player - at 15 years and 122 days - to qualify for the main Wimbledon draw since the professional era began in 1968.
The US Open is her first major title win.
She made it to the final at the French Open in 2022.
Coco grew up in Atlanta, in the US, before moving to the state of Florida to follow her tennis dream.
She started playing tennis around age six.
She went on to became the No. 1 junior in the world after winning the junior 2018 French Open singles title, and won a junior Grand Slam doubles title at the 2018 US Open.
A Grand Slam is a big and very prestigious tennis tournament.
There are four Grand Slam tournaments that take place each year - the US Open, Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
Cori's parents - Corey and Candi - watched her take on Venus Williams at Wimbledon
She has sporty parents!
Her father Corey played basketball at Georgia State University in the United States, and her mother Candi was a track and field athlete at Florida State University.
Coco also has two younger brothers, Cody and Cameron, and says she enjoys hanging out with her family, watching superhero movies, listening to Beyoncé and making TikTok videos.
She is currently being coached by Pere Riba and advised by Brad Gilbert - who worked with Andy Murray in the past.
The night before her final qualifying match for Wimbledon, the teenager had to stay up late to take a science test at 11pm UK time.
Venus and Serena are her heroes
WATCH: Emotional Cori Gauff reflects on beating 'hero' Venus Williams
Gauff said she was inspired to play tennis by 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams. and her sister Venus.
"Serena is the reason why I play tennis and why my dad decided to get me a racket," she said.
"[My first memories] were of watching Serena playing at Wimbledon and she won, though I don't remember which year, she has won so many times," Coco added.
But the famous sisters are also fans of Coco: "She's so cool. She's a great girl. I love her dad. They're just really cool people", Serena said at a press conference.
Coco Gauff was appearing in her second Grand Slam singles final
- Published4 July 2023
- Published3 September 2022
