The 15-year-old American made her first foray into the world of Grand Slam tennis…

The youngest player in the Roland Garros qualifying event—and last year’s Girls Singles’ champion—was handed a convincing loss in her second qualifying match on Thursday in Paris to Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan.

That “young player” would be Coco Gauff, the promising young American whose name you should definitely know by now and probably do.

Watching Gauff up close and personal for the first time since Wimbledon Juniors last summer, I was struck once again by the promise of her game. She strikes the ball clean and mean, plays an aggressive style of tennis that at times can make jaws drop, and appears to be improving at a rapid clip.


Don’t let yesterday’s loss to Juvan fool you—Gauff is very much on the way to making a big splash on the tour but we must remember that she’s barely turned 15 and even an 18-year-old like Juvan, who proved to be a savvy clay-courter and a relentless presence from the baseline, can seem rather mature and experienced when juxtaposed against Gauff.

That should and likely will change in a few years as Gauff, a wildly athletic and graceful athlete that cuts a sleek, menacing figure on court not all that different than the one Venus Williams' cut in her younger years, continues to grow into her body and evolves into a more mature physical presence.

But we digress…

Juvan was the better player from start to finish over the course of her 80-minute 6-3 6-3 victory over Gauff on Thursday and it was still quite interesting to watch Gauff try to deal with Juvan’s made-for-clay game. There were plenty of middle-length rallies and the young American was forced to strike a lot of head-high balls on the forehand side. This is where Gauff struggled to control the rallies. With her lean, sinewy physique, Gauff showed an ability to muscle those high forehands and get them back over the net, but many times ineffectually, and it was during these types of rallies where she was at the mercy of Juvan.

Tennis Express

Over time Gauff will likely improve in this regard. Against Juvan she showed plenty of good tennis—deep, penetrating groundstrokes that barely cleared the net (she plays with very low margin and it’s natural to think she might end up being more lethal on grass and hard courts as she develops), booming serves and a fantastic feel for the net. But she wasn’t able to take Juvan off her game often and certainly not often enough.

This caused frustration and it showed on Gauff’s face. She seemed to have a good idea of what she was up against and how much it would take for her to win this match if Juvan kept playing at such a high level (she did). As the contest wore on Gauff never ever got close to melting down (credit’s due here), but she did toss a racquet (gently) in frustration and generally exhibited the body language of a player unable to find the necessary solutions.

Even if it's not ideal there’s no shame in that. Gauff’s future is bright, and as I mentioned, she showed so much potential in winning a match at her first Grand Slam qualifying event, over 26-year-old Ankita Raina of India, and playing bravely against Juvan.


Midway through the second set Patrick Mouratoglou came to sit with Gauff’s team and urged her on. He’s taken a vested interest in her game and that also bodes well for Gauff’s future. You better believe that in the 20 minutes he sat courtside the mastermind that has helped guide Serena Williams to a plethora of milestones in the latter portion of her career saw enough to plan more than a few productive practice sessions for the next time the American visits the Mouratoglou Academy in the sunny South of France.

The bottom line is this: At 320 in the world and coming off her first Grand Slam qualifying win, Coco Gauff is well on her way to fulfilling her promise as a professional. Will she reach the lofty expectations that have already been set by many pundits? It doesn’t matter right now.

All that matters is that she keeps logging the hard yards, and that every tough loss is treated as an opportunity for growth.

Gauff was dealt a difficult loss on Thursday and watching courtside it was easy to see and feel how disappointed she was by her performance and the result. Already, at 15 years and two months, she expects to win matches—no matter the level, no matter the venue. That, more than anything, was what impressed me most about Gauff. You could see her burning up as she left the court. Most kids would be thrilled to have made the trip to Paris and become the youngest player to even win a Roland Garros qualifying match.

Not Gauff. She wants it all, and if I am reading the tea leaves correctly, she is likely on the practice court today with a scowl on her face.

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