19-Year-Old Coco Gauff Just Won the 2023 US Open

Yesterday, 19-year-old Coco Guaff won the 2023 US Open, her first-ever Grand Slam title. 

Gauff — who is the first American teenager to win the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999, and Tracy Austin before that — was triumphant over Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka. After losing the first set 3-6, Gauff took back the second set 6-3 and finished out the match with a winning 6-2 final set.

Her win comes after a disappointing loss at the 2022 French Open, which saw Iga Świątek of Poland come out on top. This summer, however, Gauff made a comeback on the court, claiming titles at the Washington and Cincinnati Opens. And during her interview on center court at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday, she called out those who doubted her. 

"Honestly, thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” Gauff said in her speech. “Like a month ago, I won a 500 title and people said I would stop at that. Two weeks ago, I won a 1000 title and people were saying that was the biggest I was going to get. So three weeks later, I’m here with this trophy right now. I tried my best to carry this with grace and I’ve been doing my best."

She added, "To those who thought [they] were putting water on my fire, you’re really adding gas to it. And now I’m really burning so bright right now.”

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