Coco Gauff is making history as the youngest tennis player in 15 years to make the Grand Slam Quarterfinal.
The 17-year-old who hails from Atlanta is the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals since Nicole Vaidisova in 2006. She’s also the youngest American since Venus Williams at the 1997 U.S. Open. Gauff is currently ranked No. 25 in the world.
This young athlete says that while she doesn’t mind people discussing her age, she is confident that her opponents could care less about how old she is.
“They want to beat me just as bad regardless of my age, and I want to beat them just as bad regardless of their age.”
With her latest win against Ons Jabeur on Monday, Gauff now qualifies to compete in the U.S. Olympics tennis team, which will happen in Tokyo later this summer. She will join the likes of Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams, and Jennifer Brady.
“I think, with a lot of young players, I think we tend to get satisfied with just, you know, the small results — not small results but certain results — before we realize that we can really shoot for more.”
