Rick Macci
praised
Coco Gauff for her outstanding campaign and the title win at the 2023
US Open but expressed the opinion that she is still far from
Serena Williams.
Since
making her debut on the WTA Tour at the age of 14 and securing her first WTA
250 title at the 2019 Parma Open when she was just 15, the American Coco Gauff
has been considered as the next Serena Williams due to her early entry into
professional competition.
Gauff's
significant progress in 2023 allowed her to win her first WTA 500 title at the
Washington Open, her first WTA 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open, and the
coveted Grand Slam at the US Open in the latter part of the year. As a result,
the young star ended the year as the world No. 3 at the age of 19, intensifying
comparisons with Serena.
Former
coach of the Williams sisters, Rick Macci, shared his opinion on Gauff's form
and the comparisons being drawn with the 23-times Grand Slam champion.
“When
people say the next Serena. I mean, that's a jump. I don't think you can go to
something like that. Let's go back to the US Open. Even though she had a great
run, won all those tournaments, she almost lost first round of the US Open,”
Macci said.
“And I told
this to many people, seven o'clock, Ashe Stadium, Billie Jean King, the prize
money equality [celebration], unbelievable pressure, and she won in three sets,
and people just said how bad she played. And I looked at it differently. That's
a gold nugget that she'll have in her pocket the rest of her career,” he added.
According
to the coach, the "narrative has changed," and now Gauff will have to
deal with the pressure of being one of the top favorites in every Grand Slam
she participates in.
“You can't
script that type of environment and then come out ahead. And then she went on
with a few other three set matches. And here we go, she's US Open champion. And
now the whole narrative has changed,” Macci concluded.
