Coco Gauff Could Face Off Against a Young Challenger at the French Open

Tennis is a fast-moving sport that sees new players emerge rapidly. A case in point is the 16-year-old Russian tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva who has stormed onto the women’s tennis tour over the past five weeks and who has drawn comparisons to Coco Gauff.

Four years ago, a similar hype surrounded Coco Gauff when she beat Venus Williams on Centre Court and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. She was touted as the next Serena Williams. Today, Coco is still hunting for her first Grand Slam and top-level tour title, having accumulated some baggage in the form of disappointing losses and inconsistent results. But at 19 years old, she is still ranked sixth in singles and third in doubles, and is considered one of the game’s great athletes with an active mind and an awareness beyond the lines of the tennis court.

Andreeva, who is at the French Open, has already beaten top 20 players and plays with an easy, smooth power that is unfazed by the size of the stage and the attention being paid to her. She is exchanging text messages with the three-time Grand Slam champion, Andy Murray and making sarcastic jokes in news conferences in English. Just like Gauff four years ago, Andreeva is a potential major contender.

It is both a blessing and a curse of tennis how easy and quickly the declarations of future greatness can come. Oftentimes, a couple of early wins on the big stage of a Grand Slam tournament are all it takes for the hype to grow, even if those wins come by an easy draw or catching an opponent on an off day. Fully developed raw power is less of a requirement in women’s tennis than men’s, which means younger players can compete at the highest level. But veteran players are often uneasy about playing a hot young player whose tendencies and weaknesses are still unknown. A younger player on court can come with nothing to lose, and this can make the mental aspect of the game all the more challenging for more experienced opponents.

Coco is in the midst of this tough phase of her development, on and off the court. At this year’s French Open, she is in the tougher side of the draw but is faring well. If she wins her next game against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, she could face off against the world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who beat Coco in the last year’s final in Paris.

One thing’s for sure: Coco is well-seasoned for her young age and has the advantage of experience, which could prove to be the determining factor in her game against potentially younger and less experienced players. As Coco puts it, players have to do it for themselves, and not for anyone else, in order to succeed in tennis, regardless of their age.