"Coco Gauff is going to be so great for the sport": Craig Tiley explains why American champions will help WTA with engagement

With the 2024 Australian Open only a few months away, tournament director Craig Tiley stated American players are the driving force for commercial success of the WTA in Melbourne, with Coco Gauff spearheading the division.

During an interview at the recently-concluded Laver Cup in Vancouver, Tiley spoke on the dominance of American tennis players in the WTA, adding Gauff and her compatriots could be vital for the development of the sport.

"Well, look, we have been fortunate," said the tennis Australia CEO. "We came through an era of having great champions, American champions. We have the U.S. players reaching the highest levels of the game. That's why Coco Gauff is going to be so great for the sport. It is the commercial engine of the sport globally. So, I think that's great for the sport, having more of that. I do see some light at the end of the tunnel with that.

"That's no disrespect, there is a lot of great European players, but the market in the U.S. is just so much bigger, and I think that's good for the sport globally."

Furthermore, Tiley stressed the importance of the WTA and ATP working together, adding that both men and women have equal opportunities in the sport.

"I think the WTA gets helped by the ATP and the WTA doing more things together," he added. "It's the great benefit of our sport. You know, most of the Grand Slams have been paying, for the last 40 years, been paying equal prize money. One of the great benefits of our sport are men and women have equal opportunity."