Stat of the Day: Coco Gauff becomes youngest American woman to win US Open since Serena Williams

The 19-year-old Gauff is just the third female American teenager to win the US Open in the Open Era.



Rob Gronkowski watches, then meets Coco Gauff at the US Open | The Break3:33

Coco Gauff capped a dream two weeks at the US Open on Saturday, battling back from a set down to defeat Aryna Sabalenka, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, for her first Grand Slam title.

And with that, the 19-year-old Gauff becomes the youngest American player to win the US Open since a 17-year-old Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam title on these courts in 1999.

Gauff is just the third female American teenager to win the US Open in the Open Era, and the first to do it since Serena.

FEMALE AMERICAN TEENAGERS TO WIN US OPEN IN OPEN ERA:
~ Tracy Austin (1979, 1981)
~ Serena Williams (1999)
~ Coco Gauff (2023)

There have been four total American teenagers to win the US Open in the Open Era—Pete Sampras captured the men's title as a 19-year-old in 1990, the first of his 14 career majors.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Coco Gauff of the United States celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in their Women's Singles Final match on Day Thirteen of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 09, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
© 2023 Getty Images

Since a first-round exit at Wimbledon, after which she said she was going “back to the drawing board,” Gauff is now an incredible 18-1, winning what was then the biggest title of career at the WTA 500 in Washington D.C., then one-upping herself by winning the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, and now she’s one-upped herself once again, capturing her first Grand Slam title.

She’s projected to rise from No. 5 to No. 3 on the WTA rankings with this result, which will surpass her previous career-high ranking of No. 4, which she set late last year.

And that’s not all—Gauff and her doubles partner, Jessica Pegula, will rise from co-No. 6 to co-No. 1 on the WTA doubles rankings on Monday. Gauff already reached No. 1 in doubles last year, but for Pegula it’ll be her first career week at the top spot.