The young women who aspired to be like Venus and Serena are now beating them.
We don’t have to imagine what it’s like being a teen tennis phenom who did the unthinkable by defeating one of the top 10 greatest tennis players of all-time.
All we need to do is ask American Cori “Coco” Gauff after she defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams at Wimbledon today.
She is the youngest player to advance through qualifying to reach the main draw, but the 12th youngest overall to play at Wimbledon. In what amounts to something of an ass-kicking, Gauff defeated Williams 6-4 6-4 in the first round.
Elaine Buckley on Twitter
I told her thank you for everything you did; I wouldn’t be here without you. I always wanted to tell her that…” 15 year old Cori Gauf, making her Wimbledon debut, on beating her idol – the 5-time champion Venus Williams – in straight sets. Unbelievable. https://t.co/HC5NwDBnYi
“I don’t really know how to feel, this is the first time I’ve cried after a match, after winning,” Gauff told the BBC. “I definitely had to tell myself to stay calm, I had to remind myself the lines were the same [as any other court].”
She added: “I never thought this would happen. I’m living my dream right now, not many people get to say that.”
On the same day, Naomi Osaka, the Haitian-Japanese sensation who was the darling of Wimbledon last year after defeating Serena Williams at the US Open, was sent home early as well after losing early.
Last year, Osaka became the first player in over 10 years to win her first two Grand Slam titles back to back. But last month she lost at the French Open in the third round before falling to Yulia Putintseva 7-6 6-2.
Putintseva, who was a last minute draw, beat Osaka last year and earlier this year as well.
