Australian Open director details why Coco Gauff can do 'great things' for tennis

• Tennis News
• WTA Tennis

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley believes Coco Gauff could do great things for tennis. Gauff, 19, recently became the first American teenager since Serena Williams in 1999 to win the US Open. Gauff, who grew up idolizing Williams, became a Grand Slam champion at the same tournament where her idol retired just a year earlier.

It was a great story and many see Gauff as someone who could be the next big promoter of tennis. "Well, look, we have been fortunate. We came through an era of having great champions, American champions. We have the US players reaching the highest levels of the game.

That's why Coco Gauff is going to be so great for the sport. It is the commercial engine of the sport globally. So, I think that's great for the sport, having more of that. I do see some light at the end of the tunnel with that.

That's no disrespect, there is a lot of great European players, but the market in the US is just so much bigger, and I think that's good for the sport globally," Tiley said.

Tiley backs Gauff to do 'great things' for tennis

Moments after becoming a Grand Slam champion, Gauff made sure to pay tribute to Serena and Venus Williams - the two players who made her believe she could be a tennis pro and win big tournaments.

“Yes, it's crazy. I mean, they're the reason why I have this trophy today, to be honest. They have allowed me to believe in this dream, you know, growing up. You know, there wasn't too many just Black tennis players dominating the sport.

It was literally, at that time when I was younger, it was just them that I can remember. Obviously, more came because of their legacy. So it made the dream more believable," Gauff said. Meanwhile, Gauff has one more tournament on her schedule as the American is hoping to cap off her great season with a first WTA Finals title.