“Multiple Grand Slam winner and world No 1, absolutely” – Marion Bartoli on Coco Gauff

There is a feeling of limitlessness that surrounds Coco Gauff at the moment. Fresh off her maiden Grand Slam title, where she became the youngest American to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999, the general consensus seems to be that her triumph was the stepping off point to a legendary career.

On the recent edition of Match Points, our esteemed panel featuring Marion Bartoli, Carole Bouchard and Simon Cambers weighed in on the future of the American teen.

Multiple Slams, world No 1

“Multiple Grand Slam winner and No 1 in the world, absolutely without a doubt,” said former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli. “She’s so driven and she wants that so much.”

Bartoli thinks it was serendipitous that Gauff won the US Open one year after legendary Serena Williams retired in New York. Of course Williams’ legacy will be near impossible to match, but Gauff is setting out on her own journey, on her own terms.

One door closes and another window opens, goes the saying.

“I think there’s just a fairytale story,” Bartoli says. “It looks so much like walking in the footsteps of Serena – of course it’s a big gap between winning one and winning 23, but I just think she has a complete package. She thinks like a 30-year-old even though she’s 19. The physicality and the fitness are just incredible.”

Bouchard – the sky is the limit for Coco

Personality. Power. Charisma. You name it, Gauff seems to have an abundance of it.

That’s why Bouchard believes that Gauff’s transformation was far from a fluke. Rather, it was a logical progression and a moment of growth that will make her even more difficult to stop in the future.

“It’s been a long time coming, but once it’s done for a player at this level, I don’t see it going away,” she said of Gauff’s rise this summer.

Bouchard adds that Gauff has been under the spotlight ever since she hit the tour as a 15-year-old phenom in 2019. She’s already endorsed by big-name brands, she’s already dealt with the pressure. Winning a major isn’t going to take her from her mission.

“I think she’s going to enjoy it. I have a feeling like she’s going to enjoy the battle. So I mean they sky’s the limit for her.”

Not a fluke

Bartoli was impressed by Gauff’s capacity to win without her best tennis in New York.

“She was struggling big time, and the way for me she has been able to just handle all of that, finding solutions [impressed me],” she said. “She didn’t play her best tennis, either, but still won a Slam. There are just so many positives. She’s definitely not a fluke.

“She’s gonna get on top of the game, absolutely.”

Definitely a No 1

Simon Cambers is not surprised by Gauff’s success and believes that the Florida native could win several Grand Slams.

“She’s done it and she did it through her own skill, her ability to problem solve on the court coming from behind so many times at that US Open,” he said. “You have to remember she got to the Roland-Garros final last year. This has been coming. It’s been coming and she just needed that extra little tweak and somebody in her ear, [which happened with] the introduction of Brad Gilbert and Pere Riba as well. That sort of maneuvering of people in her team into the right places. 

“I think she will definitely be world number one at some stage. All being well with injuries and stuff, she’ll win several grand slams.”

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