Coco's milestone teenage moments: Gauff, 19, wins her first Grand Slam title at the US Open

This year, for Black History Month, we’re focusing on a young African-American player who has already made her share of tennis history. In her five years as a pro, Coco Gauff has grabbed the Grand Slam-winning baton from Venus and Serena Williams, while also continuing Arthur Ashe’s commitment to racial justice.

With Gauff’s 20th birthday coming up in March, we’re spending this week looking at five milestone moments from her teens.

2023: Soars to Grand Slam glory on court, while sounding more relatable than ever off it

“I don’t know how this is real,” a grinning Gauff said as she stared in wonder at the US Open champion’s trophy before her.

She wasn’t being overly humble. The way she had won her first Grand Slam title did feel more than a little unreal.

It began in the least-auspicious way imaginable: with a first-round loss to Sofia Kenin at Wimbledon that shook Team Gauff like few had before. Coco spent the next few weeks praying that she had a tennis future, while her father, Corey, was so rattled that he replaced himself as her daughter’s coach with Brad Gilbert.

A little bit of prayer, a little bit of Brad, and voilà, the Summer of Coco was upon us.

Between Wimbledon and the Open, Gauff compressed half a dozen years worth of improvements into half a dozen weeks. She won her first 500-level tournament, at the Citi Open in D.C.. She won her first 1000-level tournament, at the Western & Southern Open in Cincy. She beat her nemesis, Iga Swiatek, for the first time. She served with more power and confidence, and played more aggressively and decisively from the baseline, than she had before. The Coco we had been waiting for since 2019 had arrived.

Then she topped herself by going ahead and winning the US Open, too. In the final, she beat No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka not by showing off her new offense-minded game; she did it by going back to what she does best, running and defending and finally breaking the brain of her opponent. Gauff hit just 13 winners over three sets, but she closed with a spectacular one, a backhand pass hit at full sprint, as she tumbled to the court in triumph. Her mother, Candy, danced in the stands. She knew the dreaded “can she win the big one?” conversation around her daughter was over even before it could begin.

“It doesn’t get more dramatic than that,” Coco said later.

Dramatic—but also relatable. While Gauff was soaring to glory on the court last summer, she was sounding much like the rest of us off it. She talked about her fight against imposter syndrome, her self-esteem issues, and her bad—but not uncommon—habit of beating up on herself too much. Before her semifinal against Swiatek in Cincinnati, she found herself doubting her ability, so she gave herself a pep talk.

“I looked in the mirror, I was like, ‘No, you are a good player!’”

When her Open was over, Gauff talked about not regretting the fact that she hadn’t played as well in the past, and not thinking of her earlier losses as squandered chances.

“I wouldn’t say 'missed opportunities,’ because tennis is learning,” she said. “Maybe those mistakes are the mistakes I needed to make to help me improve in the future.”

In the ESPN booth after the final, a gushing Chris Evert echoed how many of us felt when she told Coco, “You make me want to be a better person.”

That, as much as her US Open trophy, is a legacy to be proud of for someone who is just leaving her teens.