Coco Gauff becomes youngest woman to finish in the Top 3 for three straight years this century

This week on Tennis.com, we'll be featuring five storylines—one a day—that came out of the ATP and WTA's 2025 year-end rankings.

So far, we've covered how this is the first time since 2004 that four American women finished a year inside the Top 10, Novak Djokovic becoming the oldest player to finish a year inside the Top 4 in ATP rankings history, and Lorenzo Musetti single-handedly keeping the one-handed backhand year-end Top 10 streak alive.

Today, a young superstar sets a new record...

Since her run to the fourth round of Wimbledon as a 15-year-old in 2019, Coco Gauff has been no stranger to "youngest since" records.

But recently she's taken it to new levels, including at Roland Garros in 2022, when she became the youngest American woman to reach a major final this century, and then at the US Open in 2023, when she became the youngest American woman to win a major this century.

And now, she's added another line to her resume.

By finishing 2025 at No. 3—and having finished both 2023 and 2024 as the year-end No. 3, as well—the 21-year-old is the youngest woman to finish in the Top 3 for three straight years this century.

Her last three seasons have been highlighted by one huge title per year—her first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2023, the WTA Finals in 2024, and her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2025.

Gauff is just the eighth player to record three or more consecutive Top 3 finishes on the WTA rankings since 2000, period.

YOUNGEST WOMEN TO FINISH IN THE TOP 3 FOR THREE STRAIGHT YEARS THIS CENTURY (since 2000, starting with youngest):

• Coco Gauff, age 19-21 [2023-2025]
• Venus Williams, age 20-22 [2000-2002]
• Iga Swiatek, age 21-23 [2022-2024, plus 2025]
• Victoria Azarenka, age 22-24 [2011-2013]
• Ashleigh Barty, age 23-25 [2019-2021]
• Amelie Mauresmo, age 25-27 [2004-2006]
• Aryna Sabalenka, age 25-27 [2023-2025]
• Serena Williams, age 31-33 [2012-2014, plus 2015-2016]

And there's more.

Gauff is part of a trio of players, along with Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, who've been the WTA's year-end Top 3 for three straight years now, which is first time that's happened this century—and just the third time it's happened since WTA rankings began in 1975.

SAME THREE PLAYERS FINISHING IN TOP 3 FOR THREE STRAIGHT YEARS IN WTA RANKINGS HISTORY (since 1975):

• 1979-1981: Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Tracy Austin [No. 1 Navratilova, No. 2 Evert and No. 3 Austin in 1979; No. 1 Evert, No. 2 Austin and No. 3 Navratilova in 1980; No. 1 Evert, No. 2 Austin and No. 3 Navratilova in 1981]
• 1986-1988: Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf [No. 1 Navratilova, No. 2 Evert and No. 3 Graf in 1986; No. 1 Graf, No. 2 Navratilova and No. 3 Evert in 1987; No. 1 Graf, No. 2 Navratilova and No. 3 Evert in 1988]
• 2023-2025: Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff [No. 1 Swiatek, No. 2 Sabalenka and No. 3 Gauff in 2023; No. 1 Sabalenka, No. 2 Swiatek and No. 3 Gauff in 2024; No. 1 Sabalenka, No. 2 Swiatek and No. 3 Gauff in 2025]

Both Sabalenka and Swiatek also achieved impressive ranking feats this year—Sabalenka became just the third woman this century to hold the No. 1 ranking for every week of the year from start to finish, after Serena and Barty, and Swiatek became the second woman this century to finish in the Top 2 for four straight years, after Serena.

Tomorrow, we round out this series with a dominant duo...