Coco Gauff added to the legacy built by Serena Williams as a tennis player of color by winning the US Open title in 2023. However, it wasn’t an easy road for her to achieve the level of success she has in the sport without her own share of challenges. Gauff credited Serena and Venus Williams for keeping her motivated again, as she wishes to carry on the tradition of players of color becoming successful in tennis.
Gauff has shown that she has the star quality in her to transcend the sport and be a tennis icon in the country as much other players of color have in sporting leagues such as the NBA and NFL.
Gauff recently joined hands with Baker Tilly, an American financial services company, adding to her growing list of sponsors at the age of 20. In a promotional video on Instagram, Gauff revealed how important it was for her to attend the US Open in childhood. She looked back upon her now famous video on social video of dancing in the stands while Venus was playing many years ago in a match, rather fondly.
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This raises questions whether American tennis is in a healthy place or not, despite 4 US players making it to the singles semifinals of the US Open in 2024. While Gauff did not go a long way herself, the likes of Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro impressed.
Ticket prices at the US Open this year started from $26 from the first round, but for the back rows. At best, on the Labor Day weekend or later in the tournament, some fans could purchase the $37 per person package for watching action in the Grandstand at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
However, otherwise prices skyrocketed from $37 to $95 and even many cases $500, with the maximum on average being a whopping $50,000. While the US Open claimed that it had an 8% increase in fan turnout at Flushing Meadows as compared to 2023, empty seats were seen in the first few rows in many matches during the tournament.
Numbers do tell a story but not entirely on many occasions. It also showed that people with deeper pockets could afford to purchase tickets. But those who are not that well-off, like Gauff’s family was until some years ago, might not bring their children, who wish to be aspiring tennis players, to watch their favorites play from the second row.
If children cannot watch their role model live in action, would they just get inspired watching them on television or video streaming platforms or just from hearsay from the media or their parents? It is unlikely. And that raises doubts on whether if someone with a similar story like a Serena, Venus or Gauff, will make it big in American tennis again.
So the USTA needs to do better rather than relying on Gauff’s stardom and taking more credit for her success than it should.
Gauff fights all odds to be considered the next Serena
While she has a long way to go to match Serena’s 23 Grand Slam titles achievements, Gauff won her first-ever Grand Slam title at the age of 19.
She has already proved her efficiency and effectiveness as a player by winning 8 singles titles and $16,776,989 as prize money at a very young age. Due to her exceptional output on the tennis court, she has also been able to land partnerships and sponsorships from various high-profile brands like New Balance, Bose, Head, UPS, Nike, Dior and Porsche among others.
Hence, the American has been able to enter the mainstream, fighting her way to it. Beating all odds, the 20-year-old has given the hope of being the next Serena to many tennis fans and is often compared with the tennis great several times. However, Gauff is currently handling things her own way, at her own pace and indeed, has quite a few things in store for fans in the United States.
