UPDATE (Sept. 9, 2023 10:00 p.m. E.T.): On Saturday night, Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to win her first U.S. Open championship.
When Serena Williams announced a year ago that she would be “evolving away from tennis,” it raised obvious questions about the future of American tennis.
Williams, arguably the GOAT of the women’s game, piled up 23 Grand Slam singles titles dating back to 1999 and co-authored a golden age for the sport that also saw the “Big 3” of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic shatter records, dominate opponents and captivate fans.
Now, a year after Williams’ retirement, another Black American woman, Coco Gauff, has reached her first U.S. Open final, where she will meet Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff, 19, is the youngest American woman to reach the U.S. Open final since Williams did it at 17 in 1999 en route to winning her first major title.
More than two decades after that first Grand Slam, the game has changed a lot — as well as how we talk about its stars, and especially its nonwhite stars. So for all the similarities between Williams and Gauff, and all the hope and hype about Gauff’s future, comparing the two right now is both premature and unfairly simplistic. And no one knows that better than Gauff herself.
“Serena’s Serena — she’s the GOAT,” the always thoughtful Gauff told ESPN after her semifinal win Thursday. “I mean, I would hope to do half of what [Williams] does, but I’m not going to compare myself to her,” Gauff added.
“She’s someone I looked up to, but to be in the same stat-line as her means a lot to me. She’s my idol. I think the only regret that I’ll have for the rest of my life is not being able to play her,” she said. “There were so many tournaments where if we won an extra round or didn’t lose, I would’ve played her. But I’m still happy to just be the product of her legacy and be out here.”
Just as Williams and her older sister Venus Williams (who, at 43, is still playing) inspired younger generations of girls of color to pick up tennis racquets, Gauff is having a similar impact.
“I think she’s a really strong player,” said 10-year-old Melanie Hill, who got to hit on the same U.S. Open courts as Gauff this week as part of the USTA’s Net Generation initiative. “She always has a positive attitude. she’s really inspiring to me.”
Added 9-year-old Serena Youngblood: “I really want to get my backhand like hers and my volley. And her serve.”
Importantly, Gauff is not the only American — or the only American of color — carrying on Williams’ legacy.
She was among five Americans to reach the quarterfinals this year. Four of those — Gauff, Madison Keys, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton — are people of color. After taking the first set 6-0, Keys lost to Sabalenka in three sets in the semis, and Shelton faced Djokovic in the semis Friday after taking out Tiafoe in the quarterfinals.
American tennis has stood behind Williams’ 23 Grand Slam singles titles — and Venus Williams’ seven — since they first got going in the late 1990s.
Winning major titles is hard. Among the men, no American man has won one since Andy Roddick at the U.S. Open in 2003, 20 years and 78 majors ago. A huge reason for that is that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic — all Europeans — have won 65 of the last 80 majors, and Djokovic is looking to add to that total this weekend. If he wins — possibly in a dream final against 20-year-old world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz — he would surpass Williams at 23 and tie Margaret Court for the all-time record at 24.
For the first time since 2005, three American men — No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 10 Tiafoe and Shelton, the 2022 NCAA singles champion from Florida — reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals, with Shelton advancing at least to the semis. In 2005, it was Andre Agassi, James Blake and Robby Ginepri. “I think great representation for people of color, right?” Tiafoe said ahead of his match with Shelton in Ashe Stadium. “Two people of color playing in the quarterfinals, huge match on Arthur Ashe. It’s a pretty monumental moment.” The American women have fared better than the men, with Sloane Stephens in 2019 and Sofia Kenin in 2020 both breaking through to win majors. Now Gauff is one victory away from joining that group, but she will have to get past the huge-hitting Sabalenka, who has reached at least the semis of all four majors this year, won the Australian Open, and will ascend to No. 1 in the world Monday. “I’m trying to enjoy the moment but also knowing I still have more work to do,” Gauff said in her post-match press conference. “Yes, the final is an incredible achievement but it’s something that I’m not satisfied with yet.” Caroline Wozniacki, a close friend of Serena Williams’ and a former world No. 1, made a run to the fourth round of the Open, where she battled Gauff before losing in three sets. “At the end of the day, everyone has their own path,” she said. “Obviously Coco is doing well. She came on tour very young. There were a lot of eyes on her immediately. With that comes expectation, everything else. “But she has a great team around her. She is a hard worker. She’s a great athlete. When her time comes, it’s going to come,” Wozniacki said. If Gauff wins her first major at her home Slam, it will mark a huge accomplishment for her — and for American tennis. But we need to let her run her own race and enjoy it for what it is. She certainly is.
Adam Zagoria
Adam Zagoria is a tennis and basketball insider who lives in Manhattan. You can follow him on Twitter at @adamzagoria. 
