Coco Gauff becomes youngest player since Maria Sharapova to achieve this feat

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Coco Gauff has become the youngest player since Maria Sharapova in 2006 to be ranked inside the top-3 on the WTA rankings. Gauff, who turned 19 in March, reached a career-high ranking of No 3 this Monday following her US Open win.

With that achievement, Gauff became the youngest player in the top-3 since tennis legend Sharapova in October 2006. Also, Gauff is now the highest-ranked American female tennis player. At this year's US Open, Jessica Pegula entered as the American No 1.

3 - Coco Gauff became the youngest player in the top-3 of the WTA Rankings since Maria Sharapova in October 2006 and the youngest from the United States since Venus Williams in November 1999. Shiny.@WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/rEieSUROE6 — OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 11, 2023

Gauff ready for what is about to come

Now that Gauff is a Grand Slam champion and the highest-ranked American female tennis player, naturally, there is going to be increased attention and expectations on the 19-year-old American.

But Gauff is ready for what is set to come as she suggests that this is not anything new to her. “I feel like this is a big achievement, but honestly, I feel like I've been so used to this since I was basically 15 years old in high school, doing online school, just used to it.

I mean, I'm sure it might be a much bigger scale now because of this achievement, but I'm ready. I mean, I embrace it. I know how to keep my peace but also embrace all of this around me. It's been difficult. I mean, it's been a long journey to this point.

I wasn't a fully developed player, and I still think I have a lot of development to go at that moment. I think people were putting a lot of pressure on me to win. I felt that at 15 I had to win a slam at 15. I remember I lost when I was 17 and there was a stat, they were like, ‘Oh, she's not going to win a slam before Serena's age.’ It was stuff like that that I felt like I had a time limit on when I should win one, and if I won one after a certain age it wouldn't be an achievement.

It's just crazy the amount of things that I have heard or seen about myself, but I'm really happy of how I've been able to manage it all,” Gauff said.