Leveling up
Starting 2022, Gauff was ranked 22nd in the world. She overcame early losses at the beginning of the year, and made it to her first Grand Slam final at the French Open. Gauff faced Iga Swiatek, then the top-ranked women’s tennis player, and lost 6-1, 6-3.
In the doubles tournament, she enjoyed more success, again reaching the final alongside partner Jessica Pegula and only narrowly missing out on the title after a 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 loss to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
She carried that momentum in 2023, starting the year by winning at Auckland. But it was at the U.S. Open in New York in the late summer when Gauff really showed what she was capable of. Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka, ranked second at the time, and Karolina Muchova, ranked 10th at the time, to win her first Grand Slam.
And, as a tennis player who has at times shouldered the burden of being compared unfavourably to other great American stars such as the Williams sisters, Gauff had a message for her doubters.
“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” she said in an on-court interview after the final. “A month ago I won a [WTA] 500 title and people said I would stop at that. Two weeks ago I won a [WTA] 1000 title and people were saying that was the biggest it was going to get. So three weeks later I’m here with this trophy right now… for those who thought you were putting water on my fire you were really adding gas to it.”
Gauff started 2024 by winning the ASB Classic in Auckland, and is ranked third in the world. She now goes into the Australian Open as a deserved favourite and will surely be one of the stars to watch with Paris 2024 only seven months away.
