Washington: Coco Gauff, the 15-year-old American who breezed into the Wimbledon last 16 this month in her Grand Slam debut, will return in qualifying Sunday at the WTA Washington Open.
“I’m super excited,” Gauff said Saturday. “I’m really happy to get back on the court. I wasn’t sure I would get to play any matches before the US Open. I’m hoping the preparation will show,” she added.
Gauff electrified Wimbledon after her qualifying run by defeating idol Venus Williams in her opening match and rolled into the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep.
“Definitely it feels like a dream,” Gauff said. “It has been a big change. People recognise me in the airport, at the movie theatre. It’s great people have recognised who I am. It was definitely a big change,” she added.
Gauff, who made her WTA main draw debut in March at the Miami Open, ousted 44th-ranked Williams in round one at Wimbledon, then dispatched Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova and saved two match points in defeating Slovenia's 60th-ranked Polona Hercog before falling to Romania’s Halep.
“I feel like I learned a lot from Wimbledon as a player and a person,” Gauff said. “It meant a lot to me as Coco the person. I learned I’m capable of doing things I never thought of and that I have a fighting spirit. It taught me a lot about myself and showed I’ll fight no matter what,” she added.
Gauff, who has jumped from 313th to 143rd in the WTA rankings after her Wimbledon effort, rested with family and friends after the breakthrough effort before asking about a chance to play in Washington.
She can’t receive a sponsor’s exemption until next March when she turns 16 and had to use her pre-Wimbledon ranking to try and reach qualifying due to the entry date but it proved enough to land a spot in qualifying.
