Teenage sensation Coco Gauff among wild-card recipients for U.S. Open

Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff, just 15 years old, made history earlier this year when she became the youngest player in the Open Era to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon. She has since taken the tennis world by storm, reaching the Wimbledon fourth round followed by her third career main draw at the Citi Open. She will soon play in her fourth, as she has accepted a wild-card entry to the U.S. Open.

If you’re looking to bet on U.S. Open women’s winner, you’ll find Serena Williams the favorite–with Gauff priced at long odds of 50/1. But as we’ve seen in all three of the Grand Slam tournaments this year, the women’s singles is extremely open and on their day any number of stars could be victorious.

Wimbledon and the road to the U.S. Open

Gauff first made headlines when she defeated Venus Williams in their first-round clash at Wimbledon. A seven-time Grand Slam winner and 24 years Gauff’s senior, Williams was totally outplayed by the dominant Gauff–who went on to win 6-4, 6-4. The young star added two more victories before finally falling to eventual champion Simona Halep.

Following her defeat on ‘Manic Monday’ to the former world No. 1, Gauff said, “It was definitely the best week of my life, I learned a lot.” She continued, “I learned how to play in front of a big crowd. I learned what it was like to be under pressure. I learned a lot and I’m really thankful for this experience.”

She then went on to compete in Washington, D.C., playing in both the women’s singles and doubles competitions. In the former, the teenager lost out to Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan in round one. She was comfortably beaten in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 despite having a huge home crowd behind her.

After her defeat, Gauff was open. “Every loss, there’s something I learn from that, so I learned something about myself,” she explained.

Gauff had much more success in doubles, winning her first WTA title. Teaming up with compatriot Caty McNally (who also will be in the main draw of the U.S. Open), the duo got a wild card in D.C. and eventually overcame the fourth seeds Maria Sanchez and Fanny Stollar in the final.

Understandably, Gauff is excited to be playing in a home Grand Slam. On receiving a wildcard, she said, “It’s a special place to me because I’ve been going there and watching the tournament since I was eight years old.”

Equally as exciting as making a home slam debut is Gauff’s surge up the rankings. From 313^th at Wimbledon to 140^th ahead of the US Open, there’s no doubt the youngster is set for success.

Wild cards

In addition to Gauff, there are four other teenagers to have been awarded wildcards for the main draw of the U.S. Open. Former French Open Junior runner-up McNally joins fellow Americans Whitney Osuigwe and Katie Volynets, while the quintet is completed by 16-year-old Diane Parry–who reached the second round at Roland Garros earlier this year. Completing the lineup of wildcards are Samantha Stosur, Francesca Di Lorenzo and Kristie Ahn, who won the U.S. Open Wildcard Challenge.

The qualifying wildcards were awarded to Hailey Baptiste, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Shelby Rogers, Victoria Duval, Emma Navarro, Caroline Dolehide, Jamie Loeb, Katrina Scott, and Reese Brantmeier.