Coco Gauff begins US Open title defense after rise in stardom, difficult summer

NEW YORK — In the 11-plus months since Coco Gauff claimed the US Open crown, the 20-year-old tennis phenom has been busy.

She served as the United States’ female flag bearer at the Paris Olympics.

She landed the April cover of Vogue.

She’s appeared on NBC’s “Today” show multiple times.

And on Tuesday, Wheaties announced its latest limited-edition box would feature Gauff, whom the cereal brand said is “already showing the world that anything is possible when you dare to dream.”

But Gauff has endured her share of on-court challenges, too.

Last year’s US Open win remains Gauff’s only Grand Slam singles title.

Her run in the singles tournament at the Olympics ended in controversy, with an unsuccessful dispute of a chair umpire’s call moving her to tears. She was eliminated in the third round by Donna Vekic.

Eerily enough, that defeat happened at Court Philippe Chatrier, the same court where Gauff waged a similar complaint to no avail during a semifinal loss to Iga Świątek at the French Open in June.

“There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me — where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,” Gauff said after the Olympic loss.

Gauff also lost in the semifinal at this year’s Australian Open and in the fourth round at Wimbledon, though she did win her first major doubles title this year at the French Open with Kateřina Siniaková.

Last week, Gauff dropped her opening match at the Cincinnati Open, a tournament she won last year, in a shocking upset by unranked Yulia Putintseva.

Gauff, who hails from South Florida, is No. 3 in the ATP rankings going into the US Open, which starts Monday. While momentum is not on her side as she begins her title defense, Gauff has delivered her share of magic at the two-week tournament in Queens.

It was at the US Open in 2021 that Gauff advanced to her first major doubles final at age 17, playing alongside Caty McNally.

Then last year, Gauff beat big names including Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Ostapenko and Aryna Sabalenka — the last of which in come-from-behind fashion — to win the singles title as a six seed.

Gauff, who was 19 at the time, became the 10th teenager to win the US Open, and the first American teen since Serena Williams in 1999.

At her post-final press conference, Gauff described Williams and her older sister, Venus Williams, as “the reason why I have this trophy today.”

“They have allowed me to believe in this dream,” Gauff said. “Growing up, there weren’t too many Black tennis players dominating the sport. At that time when I was younger, it was just them that I can remember. … All the things that they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this.”

Now, Gauff is the one inspiring youth tennis players.

“She has energized fans around the world,” Lew Sherr, the CEO and executive director of the United States Tennis Association, said last week at a pre-US Open press conference.

“She has energized American kids, white and players of color. … We’ve had tremendous athletes of color. Venus Williams, Serena Williams. We’re very proud of the legacy in our sport. Frances Tiafoe as well on the men’s side. Starting with the building we’re in, Arthur Ashe Stadium. There’s a tremendous history here in our country.”

All eyes at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will be on Gauff as she attempts to become the first woman to win back-to-back US Open singles titles since Serena Williams, who won three in a row from 2012-14.

“I don’t really try to look in the past. I want to continue to move forward,” Gauff said this month before the Cincinnati Open.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself to keep winning, but I think I’m trying to take a step back and just enjoy what I’ve done so far, and use that experience to push me forward.”