Coco Gauff has been tipped to be the future of tennis, with Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley believing she will help the sport go global.
Gauff, 19, is the world No 3 and has already won a Grand Slam title at the US Open. She is joined by a number of other talented American women in the WTA rankings, including world No 5 Jessica Pegula and 11th-ranked Madison Keys.
Tiley believes that the success of American women, particularly Gauff, could change tennis by helping the sport reach a huge global audience.
“Well, look, we have been fortunate,” Tiley said. “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.”
While Iga Swiatek has become the dominant force of women’s tennis and Aryna Sabalenka is currently the world No 1, Tiley thinks that the European players cannot reach the same market.
“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,” he added.
Gauff is not the only young player who is tipped to be the future of tennis. Carlos Alcaraz, 19, has also won a Grand Slam title at the US Open and is the youngest world No 1 in ATP history.
Tiley believes that Gauff and Alcaraz are the two players who are “probably ahead of the pack” in terms of being the heirs apparent to the Big Three and Venus Williams.
“On the men’s side and the women’s side, there’s quite a lot,” he said. “There are some that are starting to stake their claim as being the heir apparent to that.
“I think Coco and Carlos are the two that are probably ahead of the pack in that. But the pack is broad, which is great.”
With Serena Williams and Roger Federer retired, and Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal barely playing due to injury, it is time for a new generation of players to take over. Gauff and Alcaraz are at the forefront of that new generation, and they have the potential to lead tennis to a new era of global popularity.