Gauff, Cori (2004- )

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      Coco Gauff Advances to French Open Semifinals

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      After graduating from online high school, Coco Gauff is in a new phase of her tennis career, and she is marking the occasion at the French Open in her favorite city.She has long had precocious power and speed, which she underscored by reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon at age 15. Three years later, she is playing with less exuberance and more patience. And on Tuesday, on the same Philippe Chatrier Court where she lost her cool a year ago amid errors and clear frustration, she kept it together impressively, defeating Sloane Stephens, 7-5, 6-2, to reach her first Grand Slam singles semifinal.Gauff, 18 and seeded No. 18, will face Martina Trevisan, an unseeded Italian, who will also be playing in her first major semifinal. Trevisan defeated 17th-seeded Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3, on Tuesday.“I feel so happy right now; words cannot explain,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “Last year in the quarterfinals was a tough loss for me, and I think that match really made me stronger, to better prepare for moments like today and the moments I will face in the next round.”A year ago, Gauff faced Barbora Krejcikova, a then-unseeded doubles specialist, in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and lost, 7-6 (6), 6-3. She failed to convert five set points in the opening set, made unforced errors by the bunch and uncharacteristically destroyed her racket with three angry blows to the red clay as she fell behind in the second set.Krejcikova went on to win the title, and Gauff had to work through her regrets: trying to separate the player from the person, an approach she shared with the crowd after her victory over Stephens.“I believe in myself, but I think when I was young, like even last year, I was kind of too focused on trying to fulfill other people’s expectations,” she said. “I think you should just enjoy life. I know no matter how good or bad my career is, I think I’m a great person.”Gauff, who is from Delray Beach, Fla., has long been identified as a potential superstar, and with good reason. At 13, she was the youngest U.S. Open girls’ singles finalist in history. She won the French Open girls’ title at age 14, a year before her breakthrough run in 2019 as a qualifier at Wimbledon, where she defeated one of her role models, Venus Williams, in her first main-draw match at the All England Club.Unlike some teen prodigies, Gauff did not soar to the top of women’s tennis in a hurry. Her progress has not been linear, but she is in new territory now in the final four of the French Open on a gritty surface that perhaps suits her best.She can extend points like few players in the game with her quickness and defensive skills, and can also finish them with her terrific two-handed backhand and increasingly with her forehand, long her weaker wing. She was far from perfect against Stephens, making 18 winners to 23 unforced errors, including six double faults. But she played the critical points better, rarely going for a winner from a compromised position. Instead, she patiently worked her way to the opening while the unseeded Stephens struggled to maintain her consistency, mixing forehand winners with untimely mistakes and several gaffes at the net.Stephens, a former U.S. Open champion, has had great success on clay, reaching the French Open final in 2018, where she lost to Simona Halep. But she had not won a clay-court match this season before arriving unseeded at Roland Garros.“I would have liked to play better today, but that doesn’t take anything away from the work she has put in obviously to reach this point,” Stephens said of Gauff.Stephens, 29, is now based in the Boston area, but she was long based in South Florida, like Gauff and her family, and knew them well enough to attend Gauff’s 10th birthday party. She has long been a role model for Gauff, and she defeated her in the second round of the U.S. Open last year in their only previous meeting on tour.“I’m glad today was different,” Gauff said. “Honestly, I just told myself to stay mentally there. I knew there were some shots I probably should have made and some shots she gets in the court that probably no other player gets in the court.” More

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      Leylah Fernandez and Coco Gauff Advance at the French Open

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      She outlasted Amanda Anisimova, a hard-hitting American, showing the kind of big-stage composure that got her to the final of last year’s U.S. Open.PARIS — It is a new season and a different surface, but Leylah Fernandez, still tenacious and still a teenager, is back in the deep end of another Grand Slam tournament.She needed all of her resourcefulness and upbeat energy on this unseasonably chilly Sunday afternoon at Roland Garros.Amanda Anisimova, a 20-year-old American seeded 27th, is one of the biggest pure hitters in women’s tennis, capable of generating phenomenal pace with a seemingly casual swipe of the racket.She has a new model this season, which has helped her control her easy power. The 17th-seeded Fernandez spent nearly two hours digging in the corners and lunging for returns, but in the end, the counterpuncher beat the puncher 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 as Fernandez’s quickness, consistency and yes-I-can positivity made the small difference as she advanced to her first French Open quarterfinal.“She’s very offensive,” Fernandez said. “I just tried to be as offensive as her and just take my chances, and the balls went in today.”That is no coincidence at this stage. Fernandez, a 19-year-old Canadian, looks like a big-stage player and was part of perhaps the biggest surprise in tennis history when she and another unseeded teenager, Emma Raducanu, advanced to the U.S. Open final last year with Raducanu, a qualifier, winning in straight sets.The rest of the women’s field has certainly taken notice.“I’m thinking, especially if the U.S. Open taught us anything, that anybody can win on any day,” said Coco Gauff, an 18-year-old American who is seeded 18th at Roland Garros.Gauff played one of the better matches on Sunday, defeating No. 31 seed Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-0 to return to the French Open quarterfinals, where she lost last year to the eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in an error-strewn match that Gauff ranks as one of the biggest disappointments of her short career because of the way she managed the most significant points.“I think that was the biggest lesson I learned last year in my quarterfinal,” Gauff said. “I had a couple of set points, and I think I freaked out when some of those points didn’t go my way. Today I didn’t freak out.”Instead, she gathered strength and showed increased patience on the clay, often engaging in long rallies with Mertens before going for winners (or hitting a lunging backhand around the net post).Her work on herself and with her new coach, Diego Moyano, seems to be paying dividends, and Gauff will next face one of Moyano’s former pupils, Sloane Stephens, in an all-American, intergenerational duel.Stephens, 29, is unseeded this year but has long thrived on clay and was a French Open finalist in 2018. On Sunday, she overwhelmed Jil Teichmann 6-2, 6-0. Stephens defeated Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of last year’s U.S. Open when they played for the first time on tour. But that was hardly the first meeting. Both are based in South Florida, and Stephens attended Gauff’s 10th birthday party and practiced with Gauff for the first time when Gauff was 12 and already planning on facing Stephens on much bigger stages.“Today I didn’t freak out,” Coco Gauff said of her straight-sets win on Sunday.Yoan Valat/EPA, via Shutterstock“I had a very competitive mind-set since I was a little girl,” Gauff said. “Yes, I looked up to her and all that, but I knew that I was going to be playing against her.”For those who followed the dueling Cinderella stories, Fernandez and Raducanu will be forever linked, but though both were seeded here in Paris, they have not been on parallel paths since New York.Neither has come close to taking the regular tour by storm. That has been reserved for a player who is only slightly older: the new No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who at age 20 has won 31 straight matches and remains a prohibitive favorite at Roland Garros, where she was a surprise teenage champion herself in 2020.But while Raducanu has signed a series of major endorsement deals and shuffled coaches, she has yet to get past the quarterfinals of a regular tour event since the U.S. Open. Fernandez has often lost early as well but she did defend her singles title in Monterrey, Mexico, in March and is now making her best run in Paris with a fine chance to go further considering that she will face the unseeded Italian Martina Trevisan in a rare quarterfinal between left-handers at Roland Garros.Sloane Stephens will face Gauff, her fellow American, in the quarterfinals.Christophe Archambault/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFernandez said she put too much pressure on herself to succeed after the U.S. Open final.“I just wanted to be more offensive, more aggressive and improve my game as fast as possible,” she said. “I think I just understood that there is a process, and it’s still a long year, a very long year, and I just need to calm myself down, calm my mind down. And just accept that things are going to be tough, things are going to go sideways in a match, in a practice. And just understand that I’ve got more tools in my toolbox that I can use and just find solutions.”That last sentence sounds like she has been studying the Rafael Nadal phrase book, and there is indeed a touch of Nadal in Fernandez on court. She, too, is a speedy lefty with unorthodox technique. Nadal has his bolo-whip finish on the forehand; Fernandez has extreme grips of her own and often hits her two-handed backhand with her hands far apart.There are the intangibles, too: the in-the-moment combativeness; the resolute walk between points and the ingrained rituals. Anisimova might want to jot down a few notes considering her lingering tendency to get negative. She often grimaced at her errors on Sunday, mocking her own shots and flinging her racket across the red clay in frustration late in the final set to the sound of a few scattered boos from stands that were never more than half full on the main Chatrier Court.Fernandez seemed like a more composed and focused presence. Even if her game was a flickering flame, her commitment was not.“Every time I step out on the court I still have something to prove,” she said. “I still have that mind-set I’m the underdog. I’m still young. I still have a lot to show to the people, to the public so that they can just enjoy the tennis match.” More

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      Coco Gauff Loves Clay. Really.

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      Americans and the red clay of Roland Garros have not always gotten along so well. Coco Gauff and a few others are starting to change that.As French Open riddles go, Coco Gauff makes for a pretty good one.On the surface, she has no business steamrolling opponents on the red clay of Roland Garros, especially women from Europe who grew up on the stuff. But steamroll she has, cruising into the final 16 without dropping a set.Gauff is playing in the half of the draw that does not include Iga Swiatek of Poland, the world No. 1 who has not lost since mid-February and plays every match like her court-time will expire after an hour. That means Gauff is positioned as well as anyone to stay alive deep into the second week, which has some people who have been around the sport for a very long time scratching their heads.After Gauff beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia on Friday afternoon, 6-3, 6-4, in a brisk 83 minutes, Fabrice Santoro, the retired French player who does the on-court interviews, was less than subtle.You’re an American, and yet you love clay, Santoro said. How is this possible?Indeed Gauff has grown up mostly in Florida, which has produced its share of tennis champions, but Americans have a reputation for being allergic to clay, growing up in a country where hardcourts are ubiquitous and French Open champions not named Williams are rare.Mary Carillo, who won the mixed-doubles title here in 1977 with John McEnroe, said McEnroe told her he still found it difficult to return to the venue where he blew a two-set lead in the 1984 men’s singles final. An American man has not won the singles title since Andre Agassi in 1999. Serena Williams won it three times, most recently in 2015, and her 23 Grand Slam victories have come much more often on the other surfaces. Sofia Kenin was a finalist in 2020, and Amanda Anisimova was a semifinalist in 2019.Gauff’s game, when she is avoiding her ugly streaks of double faults, is built around her powerful serve. When the ball makes contact with clay, it slows and pops in the air more than it does on any other surface, which should render her most potent weapon less so. Also, her strokes can be erratic, a dangerous trait on a surface on which the ability to grind through long rallies is essential.And yet, Gauff talks like a dirt baller who grew up in Spain, where clay-court tennis is simply known as tennis.“I love clay,” she said earlier this week. “I have good results on clay all the time.”Gauff won the girls’ title here in 2018 and made the quarterfinals in the main draw last year. She could have a good bit of American company in the fourth round, where she will face Elise Mertens of Belgium. Anisimova advanced Friday after Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic twisted an ankle badly during the second set of what had been a tense battle. Muchova had to default early in the third. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion and a finalist at the 2018 French Open, advanced with a win over Diane Parry of France. Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Shelby Rogers play their third-round matches Saturday.At just 18, Gauff is the youngest of the lot. She also has been the most intentional about making herself as good on clay as she is on any other surface, from her first years of pursuing tennis seriously. She began traveling to the south of France to train at the Mouratoglou Academy when she was 10.Also, look a little deeper and the clay may give Gauff as many advantages as it takes away. At 5-foot-9, Gauff is around the average height among top players these days, but she has long legs. That can help her cover a lot of ground with just a few quick steps, but it can make balls that stay low on grass and hardcourts a tad more difficult for her.If there has been a common thread in Gauff’s first three matches, it’s how well positioned she has so often been. The balls hit the clay and bounce right into her strike zone, giving her a series of belt-high fastballs that she can tee off on, while taking advantage of the extra split second the clay gives her to set her feet or slide into position.Always aggressive and hunting for forehands, she will inevitably make her share of errors, but so far she has hit more winners than unforced errors, which is always a good sign for any player. She has also rarely appeared off balance.“I really enjoy sliding,” she said. “I think it helps me recover faster after I get to the ball. Then also, I mean, I play pretty heavy on my forehand, so I think that clay bounces the ball up even higher.”For her part, Anisimova, 20, also spent most of her childhood in Florida, but she said she grew more comfortable on the clay largely by playing a lot of junior tournaments in Latin American countries, where red clay is also far more common than it is in the United States.Anisimova is a dangerous returner, able to punish the slower serves, especially with her near-lethal backhand. She also knows her footwork and movement may be the weakest part of her still-developing game, and the longer points on clay inevitably require her to cover more ground. The clay makes her weakness a little less weak. “It gives me more time,” she said of the clay after her win over Muchova. “Hard courts sometimes can be a bit too quick.”One more win each for Gauff and Stephens, and they would face each other in a quarterfinal between two Americans.Stephens faces Jil Teichmann of Switzerland and knows she has her work cut out for her for a simple reason.“She likes clay,” Stephens said. More

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      The Challenge for Young Players: Achieving Dominance

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      Tennis experts offer advice on how young women can improve their games and move up in the rankings.When Ash Barty retired in March, the conversation centered on how someone so young could walk away from tennis. For a Women’s Tennis Association champion, however, 25 is relatively old.Since Serena Williams’s last Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2017, 15 of 19 Slam winners have been 25 or younger, and 11 were women no more than 23. The new world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, won’t be 21 until the end of this month.However, most of that group failed to ensconce themselves at the top of the sport: Jelena Ostapenko, Bianca Andreescu, Sofia Kenin and, especially, Garbiñe Muguruza and Naomi Osaka are still threats, but all have Ping-Ponged up and down the rankings because of injuries and other struggles.That opens the door to the Top 10 for the next generation. But to reach the sport’s summit, these players must address their weaknesses. However, as the American player Coco Gauff noted, “It’s tough to work on new things when you’re practicing during a tournament because you don’t want to introduce something new just before a match.”Marta Kostyuk and Amanda Anisimova said they skipped tournaments, sacrificing ranking points, to make time for practice. “I have a good balance,” Anisimova said. “My game is a work in progress, and it’s not a speedy process.”Pam Shriver, an ESPN analyst and former professional player, said that in the late fall, players out of contention for the year-end WTA Finals would be well served by taking more time off. “They should each do a major assessment after the U.S. Open to see if they want to retool a few things,” she said.They should learn to emulate Barty’s well-rounded game, said Martina Navratilova, a Tennis Channel analyst and the multiple Grand Slam winner. “She had variety in her shots and a Plan B or Plan C in every match,” Navratilova said. “You have to be able to hurt people in more ways than one.”Fortunately, said Rennae Stubbs, an ESPN analyst and former professional player, the competitors’ youth allows time to grow: “Yes, there are things they can improve, but the great players from the past all changed how they played as they got older and stronger.”Here are seven players no older than 22 and advice on how they could improve their games.Emma Raducanu at the Madrid Open tennis earlier this month. Manu Fernandez/Associated PressEmma RaducanuLast year, Raducanu, 19, who is ranked 12th, stunned the sport by winning the United States Open. But instant stardom can create problems, Navratilova said.“She’s getting thrown too much into the world outside tennis,” Navratilova said of distractions like social media. “And agents often try to get the bucks while the player’s hot.”Shriver, who reached a U.S. Open final at 16, can relate. “It changed my whole world,” she said. “It takes awhile to get resituated with your new identity and responsibilities.”Coco Gauff at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., in March,Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressCoco GauffGauff, 18, and ranked 18th, is working on her footwork and on staying calm under pressure, “making sure I take my time between points,” she said.Her elders prefer that she focus on her forehand. “It has gotten better, but it’s still the shot that goes off,” Navratilova said.Stubbs blamed Gauff’s extreme forehand grip, exacerbated by a long swing and not enough racket-head speed.For an athlete of Gauff’s caliber, time may provide the solution, Shriver said. “When you’re still growing into your body, it’s not easy to always have the same contact point on shots,” she said, “so some of this will change when Coco settles into her frame.”Leylah Fernandez in April playing in Vancouver, Canada. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press, via Associated PressLeylah FernandezHer top priority, Shriver said, should be building up durability and strength: “She needs a strong core to withstand the power of the top players but also the week-in, week-out playing.”As a lefty, Fernandez, 19, and ranked 17th, must also use her cross-court forehand to pull players off the court on their backhand side, Shriver said, and earn more free points on her serve, Stubbs added. “Her service motion could get a little more fluid,” Stubbs said. “It gets a little discombobulated.”Amanda Anisimova at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in January.Dean Lewins/EPA, via ShutterstockAmanda AnisimovaAnisimova, 20, and ranked 33rd, has the shots to be a champion, Navratilova said, but must move forward and take balls earlier. “She hits a big shot to the corner, but is still six feet behind the baseline,” Navratilova said. “She needs to step in and take advantage.”Shriver said players like Maria Sharapova improved their speed and quickness through training. Anisimova is on board: “I’m most focused on my movement and becoming a better athlete, and I think it’s improved a lot over the last couple of months.” Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic at a tournament in Prague last year.Petr David Josek/Associated PressMarketa VondrousovaFor Vondrousova, 22, and ranked 35th, it’s about mental growth more than specific shots. “She’s very talented and has great variety in her shots, but sometimes she gets down on herself mentally,” Stubbs said.Her lack of fire could just be natural reserve, Shriver said, but to prove doubters wrong, Vondrousova must display a killer instinct in rallies: “She has a good lefty forehand, but needs to make it an intimidating weapon.”Clara Tauson of Denmark at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in January.Mark Metcalfe/Getty ImagesClara Tauson“She has the world at her feet, but needs to get her fitness level up there,” said Stubbs, who expects big things as Tauson, 19, becomes more comfortable on the tour: “If she can get quicker, she won’t have to always hit the big shot.”Shriver said Tauson, who is ranked 43rd, had game-changing power but sometimes lacked intensity: “Maybe she’s just shy, but sometimes it feels like she’s not fully engaged. I’d like to see some passion on the court.”Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine at the Madrid Open earlier this month.Manu Fernandez/Associated PressMarta KostyukWith her father still in Ukraine, this Kyiv native has bigger things on her mind. “Most important is that she gets help dealing with this trauma, because it’s going to be in her life,” Shriver said, adding that Kostyuk, 19, must be patient with her tennis game for now.Kostyuk, who is ranked 58th, said that in addition to working on her shot selection during rallies, she was most focused on “staying in the present.”However, even without the horrors in her homeland, that is not easy to work on in practice. “It is a big part of it,” Kostyuk said, “but these are abstract ideas, so it’s not like just working on your down-the-line backhand.” More

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      Tennis Experts Offer Advice on How Young Players Can Improve

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      Tennis experts offer advice on how young women can improve their games and move up in the rankings.When Ash Barty retired in March, the conversation centered on how someone so young could walk away from tennis. For a Women’s Tennis Association champion, however, 25 is relatively old.Since Serena Williams’s last Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2017, 15 of 19 Slam winners have been 25 or younger, and 11 were women no more than 23. The new world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, won’t be 21 until the end of this month.However, most of that group failed to ensconce themselves at the top of the sport: Jelena Ostapenko, Bianca Andreescu, Sofia Kenin and, especially, Garbiñe Muguruza and Naomi Osaka are still threats, but all have Ping-Ponged up and down the rankings because of injuries and other struggles.That opens the door to the Top 10 for the next generation. But to reach the sport’s summit, these players must address their weaknesses. However, as the American player Coco Gauff noted, “It’s tough to work on new things when you’re practicing during a tournament because you don’t want to introduce something new just before a match.”Marta Kostyuk and Amanda Anisimova said they skipped tournaments, sacrificing ranking points, to make time for practice. “I have a good balance,” Anisimova said. “My game is a work in progress, and it’s not a speedy process.”Pam Shriver, an ESPN analyst and former professional player, said that in the late fall, players out of contention for the year-end WTA Finals would be well served by taking more time off. “They should each do a major assessment after the U.S. Open to see if they want to retool a few things,” she said.They should learn to emulate Barty’s well-rounded game, said Martina Navratilova, a Tennis Channel analyst and the multiple Grand Slam winner. “She had variety in her shots and a Plan B or Plan C in every match,” Navratilova said. “You have to be able to hurt people in more ways than one.”Fortunately, said Rennae Stubbs, an ESPN analyst and former professional player, the competitors’ youth allows time to grow: “Yes, there are things they can improve, but the great players from the past all changed how they played as they got older and stronger.”Here are seven players no older than 22 and advice on how they could improve their games.Emma Raducanu at the Madrid Open earlier this month. Manu Fernandez/Associated PressEmma RaducanuLast year, Raducanu, 19, who is ranked 12th, stunned the sport by winning the United States Open. But instant stardom can create problems, Navratilova said.“She’s getting thrown too much into the world outside tennis,” Navratilova said of distractions like social media. “And agents often try to get the bucks while the player’s hot.”Shriver, who reached a U.S. Open final at 16, can relate. “It changed my whole world,” she said. “It takes awhile to get resituated with your new identity and responsibilities.”Coco Gauff at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., in March.Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressCoco GauffGauff, 18, and ranked 18th, is working on her footwork and on staying calm under pressure, “making sure I take my time between points,” she said.Her elders prefer that she focus on her forehand. “It has gotten better, but it’s still the shot that goes off,” Navratilova said.Stubbs blamed Gauff’s extreme forehand grip, exacerbated by a long swing and not enough racket-head speed.For an athlete of Gauff’s caliber, time may provide the solution, Shriver said. “When you’re still growing into your body, it’s not easy to always have the same contact point on shots,” she said, “so some of this will change when Coco settles into her frame.”Leylah Fernandez in April playing in Vancouver, Canada. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press, via Associated PressLeylah FernandezHer top priority, Shriver said, should be building up durability and strength: “She needs a strong core to withstand the power of the top players but also the week-in, week-out playing.”As a lefty, Fernandez, 19, and ranked 17th, must also use her cross-court forehand to pull players off the court on their backhand side, Shriver said, and earn more free points on her serve, Stubbs added. “Her service motion could get a little more fluid,” Stubbs said. “It gets a little discombobulated.”Amanda Anisimova at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in January.Dean Lewins/EPA, via ShutterstockAmanda AnisimovaAnisimova, 20, and ranked 33rd, has the shots to be a champion, Navratilova said, but must move forward and take balls earlier. “She hits a big shot to the corner, but is still six feet behind the baseline,” Navratilova said. “She needs to step in and take advantage.”Shriver said players like Maria Sharapova improved their speed and quickness through training. Anisimova is on board: “I’m most focused on my movement and becoming a better athlete, and I think it’s improved a lot over the last couple of months.” Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic at a tournament in Prague last year.Petr David Josek/Associated PressMarketa VondrousovaFor Vondrousova, 22, and ranked 35th, it’s about mental growth more than specific shots. “She’s very talented and has great variety in her shots, but sometimes she gets down on herself mentally,” Stubbs said.Her lack of fire could just be natural reserve, Shriver said, but to prove doubters wrong, Vondrousova must display a killer instinct in rallies: “She has a good lefty forehand, but needs to make it an intimidating weapon.”Clara Tauson of Denmark at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in January.Mark Metcalfe/Getty ImagesClara Tauson“She has the world at her feet, but needs to get her fitness level up there,” said Stubbs, who expects big things as Tauson, 19, becomes more comfortable on the tour: “If she can get quicker, she won’t have to always hit the big shot.”Shriver said Tauson, who is ranked 43rd, had game-changing power but sometimes lacked intensity: “Maybe she’s just shy, but sometimes it feels like she’s not fully engaged. I’d like to see some passion on the court.”Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine at the Madrid Open earlier this month.Manu Fernandez/Associated PressMarta KostyukWith her father still in Ukraine, this Kyiv native has bigger things on her mind. “Most important is that she gets help dealing with this trauma, because it’s going to be in her life,” Shriver said, adding that Kostyuk, 19, must be patient with her tennis game for now.Kostyuk, who is ranked 58th, said that in addition to working on her shot selection during rallies, she was most focused on “staying in the present.”However, even without the horrors in her homeland, that is not easy to work on in practice. “It is a big part of it,” Kostyuk said, “but these are abstract ideas, so it’s not like just working on your down-the-line backhand.” More

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      At US Open, Teen Women Rule and It's Contagious

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      Doubles partners Coco Gauff and Caty McNally credit fellow teenagers Leylah Fernandez and Emma Radacanu for motivating them they advance to the semifinals.As Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez have put themselves one match away from an improbable all-teenage U.S. Open women’s singles final, an even younger duo is just as close to taking the trophy in tandem.Coco Gauff, 17, and Caty McNally, 19, beat the top-seeded doubles pairing of Elise Mertens and Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday afternoon in the women’s doubles quarterfinals, 6-3, 7-6 (1).In Gauff and McNally’s on-court interview in front of a joyful crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium, McNally said she had drawn inspiration from her peers’ success in singles.“It’s truly incredible,” McNally said. “I’ve walked past Leylah and Emma in the locker rooms and have just congratulated them, and rooted them on. I think it’s unbelievable. Age is just a number; it doesn’t mean anything. We’re showing that we’re fierce and we’re ready to be out here competing with everyone. I just think it’s awesome.”In their news conference, Gauff said she believed there was “definitely a shift” happening toward a younger generation.“For me, I always knew it was going to come,” Gauff said. “I’m glad. I’m so happy for Leylah and Emma. I’ve known both of them for a long time; they’re both super nice girls, and I’m always cheering for them.” Gauff said she had been due to leave the tournament site during Fernandez’s quarterfinal win Tuesday, but stayed to watch the conclusion. “I had to wait ’til that third set finished,” Gauff said. “It ended up being long, but it was worth the wait.”“I am rooting for both of them,” Gauff added. “Hope we get a teenager final. It’s definitely inspiring. It inspires me to do better and work harder.”Gauff, ranked 23rd in singles, has been a leader for her generation in recent years, resetting expectations of what teenagers can achieve in this era of professional tennis after reaching the second week of Wimbledon in 2019 when she was just 15 years old. McNally has yet to break the top 100 in singles, but said she drew encouragement from Raducanu and Fernandez’s successes.“I think it should just give everyone the inspiration to just go out there and say, ‘Why not me?’” McNally said. “That’s what they’re doing, going out there every match, playing so fearless. ‘Why not me going to the semis, quarters, or winning it?’ They’re playing very boldly, fiercely. Obviously we’re not still in the singles, but I think we can do the same thing in doubles.”McNally and Gauff celebrate match point.Elsa/Getty ImagesDespite their youth, the team dubbed “McCoco” is one of the more established partnerships in women’s tennis. McNally and Gauff first played together three years ago here, winning the U.S. Open girls’ doubles title. They have played together frequently since, winning three WTA titles beginning in 2019, and twice reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.“The main thing that makes us hard to beat is our chemistry with each other,” Gauff said. “If one of us is off, the other one is always there to cover.” (When McNally missed this year’s French Open, Gauff played doubles with a decidedly older partner: then-40-year-old Venus Williams.)Mertens and Hsieh, whose second serves were both relentlessly attacked by the teenagers across the net, were full of praise for the emerging generation.“They have nothing to lose: they can play and be free,” said Mertens, a relative veteran at age 25 who is also ranked in the top 20 in singles. “Body-wise, they’re very mature, and also mentally. They have a lot of power already, for 17 and 18 years old.”Hsieh, 35, was enthusiastic about the youth infusion in the singles and doubles draws at this year’s Open.“It’s always nice to see the young girls coming,” Hsieh said. “They’re pretty, they have energy, and they have different games. It’s an exciting refresh for the tour.”Hsieh, however, said she was happy to watch the youth takeover from a distance, for now. “I hope I don’t need to face them again too fast,” she said. As their on-court interview was wrapping up, Gauff grabbed the microphone to address the “Gen Z” people she saw in attendance.“Armstrong is always a young crowd — I saw a lot of kids out there,” Gauff said in her news conference. “I wanted them to know it definitely can happen to them. I just think if you dream it, you can do it. All those kids out there just reminded me of me when I was here in the U.S. Open watching people play, thinking that I can make it. It’s always such a big dream.“People always say, ‘Yeah, every kid thinks they’re going to be No. 1 and stuff,’” Gauff added. “I think every kid should believe that and should work for it; don’t let adults tell you that you can’t do it.” More

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      The Teenagers Are Taking Over Tennis. That Might Not End Well.

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      The U.S. Open play of Leylah Fernandez, Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu has been exhilarating. But if the past is prelude, rough seas are ahead.It has been quite a run for the teenagers at the U.S. Open, especially a bright-eyed and beguiling troika that has managed to turn the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center into its personal playground.Like young stockbrokers who have yet to see a bear market, Emma Raducanu, Leylah Fernandez and Carlos Alcaraz are experiencing the best of tennis life: match after match of effusive crowds that chant their names and ask for selfies, passing shots that nick the back of the line, and the freedom of swinging their rackets on a stage where they cannot lose, because no one was counting on them to win in the first place.And yet, they do not have to look far to see how quickly it can all go off the rails.“Buckle up, it’s a long ride,” Shelby Rogers, the veteran American and Raducanu’s latest casualty, said Sunday when asked what advice she could offer the trio of teenagers for when their U.S. Open runs end.Naomi Osaka had just emerged from her teens three years ago when she upset Serena Williams to win this tournament. Three years, three Grand Slam titles, nearly $20 million in prize money and tens of millions more in sponsorships later, Osaka’s tournament ended this time with a loss to Fernandez followed by a tearful announcement that she will take an indefinite leave from tennis. Iga Swiatek, the Polish star who won the 2020 French Open at 19 without losing a set, spent much of her upset loss Monday against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland screaming at her coach and the sports psychologist who travels with her.By now it is accepted wisdom that tennis has a tendency to eat its young like few other sports. Managing life as a young star on the tennis tour is a physical and mental test that trips up nearly every player at some point, especially those who break through early and then are suddenly expected to compete at the highest level nearly every time they take the court.Emma Raducanu siged autographs and took selfies after defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo over the weekend.Elsa/Getty ImagesA ranking and seeding system places a number next to their name, letting them and the world know in the starkest way who should win any given match. Guaranteed payments from sponsors can relieve the burden of playing for your next meal or plane ticket. However, those contracts are often laden with incentive bonuses for winning tournaments and climbing the rankings. There is an implicit understanding that the contract will, at best, be reduced and at worst not be renewed if players don’t maintain a certain level of proficiency.The attention, from millions of fans but also from family, cuts both ways, sports psychologists say, especially in a sport that has so many parent coaches. Fernandez’s mother has had a front-row seat for her daughter’s upsets of Osaka and Angelique Kerber, the former world No. 1. She leaned over the rails and screamed when Fernandez prevailed on the biggest points. Success naturally brings that kind of enthusiasm but can also produce a fear that the love will vanish if the winning stops.Fernandez’s father, Jorge, doubles as her coach. He is at home in Florida with her younger sister, she said, but he calls every day with a game plan for the next match, “just telling me what to do in the day before, and then he trusts in me and in my game, that I’m going to execute it as much as I can.”They may not be exhibiting poise under pressure as much as they are playing without pressure, which allows them to swing freely without the fear of not living up to expectations.Carlos Alcaraz and Leylah Fernandez continued to impress with their play into the second week at the U.S. Open.Frank Franklin II/Associated PressJohn Minchillo/Associated Press“I think it’s just the young people” who can play this way, Kerber said Sunday after Fernandez bested her in three sets with blistering forehands and fearless serves at the corners of the service box. Kerber, 33, has won three Grand Slam titles and was ranked No. 1 as recently as 2017. For several years she has battled injuries, inconsistency and the idea that she should still be at the top of the sport.“Playing completely without pressure, in this position, it’s impossible, but I wish,” she said.Oddly, for much of the past decade, players, coaches and tennis officials generally accepted that the sport had moved beyond teenagers. Equipment that allowed for powerful shots from previously impossible angles extended points and matches, accentuating the importance of mature strength and conditioning to a degree that made it too hard for teenagers to compete at the top level of the game, especially on the men’s side.Then Coco Gauff, the rising American, started winning matches at Wimbledon in 2019, when she was just 15. Now a collection of her physically advanced peers are making their mark.Raducanu beat Rogers in her debut in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday. On Tuesday, Fernandez plays Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the quarterfinals, while Alcaraz takes on Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada.Raducanu, who is in her first summer of playing top level competitions, impressed once again Monday. She dropped the first two games, then reeled off 11 of the next 12 games and won 6-2, 6-1, showing off her exquisite combination of graceful athleticism and smooth, lacing groundstrokes. She has lost a combined total of just four games in her last two matches. When Rogers’ last ball settled into the net, Raducanu dropped her racket, fell to her knees and covered her eyes in disbelief.Young fans waited for Fernandez after her match on Sunday.Elsa/Getty ImagesMartin Blackman, the general manager for player development at the United States Tennis Association, said in recent years the better, and more physically developed, older teenagers had begun to shun junior tournaments, instead cutting their teeth in low-level professional events, while still finding a balance between competition, training and rest.“So they come in under the radar and then they emerge on the big stage,” he said.There is nothing that can come close to guaranteeing that they will not succumb to the challenges of the game — being on the road for months on end, living up to rising expectations, and dealing with the inevitable losses and physical ailments.“It is a perilous prospect,” said David Law, a tennis commentator for the BBC who previously worked for ATP, said Sunday as he settled in for Raducanu’s match. “It can go wrong. We’ve seen it go wrong.”Law does not have to look far to be reminded of that. One of his BBC colleagues is Laura Robson, who at 18 made the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 2012 with wins over Kim Clijsters, one of the top players in the world, and Li Na, the Chinese star. She appeared on her way to greatness. Two years later she was battling a wrist injury from which she would never fully recover.Raducanu during her upset win on Monday.Danielle Parhizkaran/USA Today Sports, via ReutersFrances Tiafoe, the 23-year-old American, spoke Sunday night after his fourth-round loss to Auger-Aliassime about his efforts to work his way back from the hype surrounding his quick rise into the top 50 in 2018, when he was seen as the savior of American men’s tennis.“I thought I was just going to just keep going,” he said. “It doesn’t work like that. Same work you did to get up there, the same work you need to keep going, keep working harder.”Despite the cautionary tales, it is nearly impossible not to be swept up in the excitement of watching new talent burst onto the scene at one of the biggest showcases in sports. It is a breathless experience that tennis has long thrived on.Alcaraz, a Spaniard already burdened with the nickname “the Next Rafa,” a reference to his countryman, the 20-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, said he knows that he has become a subject of fascination back home over the past few days.“I’m trying not to think about this,” he said Sunday after beating Peter Gojowczyk of Germany in the fourth round, his second consecutive five-set win. “Just focus on New York, on every day here.”That is a good start, said Mary Carillo, the tennis commentator and former Grand Slam doubles champion. Carillo has seen tennis crack so many rising stars, from Andrea Jaeger, who tanked matches, to Mardy Fish, who battled anxiety and mental illness at the peak of his career. Her heart sinks every time she sees players checking their phones for what is being said about them on social media as soon as they walk off the court.Survival, she said, comes down to the stuff we learn in kindergarten: Get enough sleep; don’t talk to strangers; don’t listen to what they say about you; stay away from bad people.“You really better make sure you have the right people on your ball club,” Carillo said. “People who understand your values, your ambitions, how much you can take and most importantly when you need some time to step away.” More

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      Gauff-Stephens U.S. Open Matchup Another Sign of the Williams Legacy

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      Neither Venus nor Serena Williams entered the U.S. Open this year. But their influence in the women’s singles tournament is clear.When Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff face off on Wednesday night at the U.S. Open, their drawing power as young Black women in Arthur Ashe Stadium will be just the latest showcase of the legacy of the sisters Venus and Serena Williams.Neither Williams sister is competing at this year’s tournament because of injuries — the first time both sisters are absent from Flushing Meadows since 2003. But their presence is clear throughout the tournament even though they aren’t in the field.When Venus Williams broke through to her first U.S. Open final in 1997, she was the first Black woman to do so in nearly 40 years. Now, success by Black women in the tournament is the norm. In the four women’s singles tournaments from 2017 through 2020, six of the eight slots in the finals were filled by Black players. Naomi Osaka won the tournament twice — including in 2018 against Serena Williams — and Stephens beat Madison Keys for the title in 2017. Serena Williams also made the final in 2019.Stephens beat Keys in the first round on Monday in a rematch of their 2017 final, leading to her showdown with Gauff in the second round.Gauff, 17, had not been born the last time the U.S. Open was without either of the Williams sisters. She said that when she was younger, her father “spent a lot of money” on front row tickets at Ashe to watch the Williamses up close.“Since I was 8 years old, pretty much every year coming — to watch them really,” Gauff said. “That’s probably the only reason why we spent so much money on tickets and travel, is to watch them play.”Stephens, 28, has not been particularly close to the Williams sisters even though she looked up to them as a child. But she has formed a bond with Gauff, who grew up near Stephens in Florida.“The evolution of her game has been really awesome,” said Stephens, who said she had known Gauff since Gauff was 8 and calls her “Cocofina” as a nickname.“To be as established as she is now is super inspiring, super awesome,” Stephens said. She added: “She has a lot of amazing things she does in her game. Obviously she’s young so she still has things to work on, but I think she’s a very established player with great things in her game.”Gauff said that facing Stephens at the U.S. Open would be a “full-circle moment.”“I’ve known her for a long time, so I don’t even know what the first memory is,” Gauff said of Stephens. “I do remember when I was 10 years old, I had a birthday party at a water park, and she came to it, which is really cool. All my friends were excited that Sloane Stephens is at your birthday.”Gauff reached the final of the 2017 U.S. Open junior tournament when she was 13, the year in which Stephens won the top singles title. More