Coco
Gauff achieves career-high ranking as No. 2 following
Aryna Sabalenka's
elimination in the
French Open quarterfinals. The American successfully
overcame a tough match against Ons Jabeur (No. 8) by 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, advancing
to the semifinals and surpassing her performance from last year, when she fell
in the quarterfinals.
With
this, Gauff secured an additional 350 points, while Sabalenka will lose the
same amount. The Belarusian was unable to prevail against
Mirra Andreeva (No.
38) and lost 7-6(5), 4-6, 4-6, failing to defend her semifinal points from
2023.
New career-high ranking for Gauff
So
far, the 20-year-old has had a flawless journey at
Roland Garros. The 2022
finalist breezed through the first week with straight-set victories against
Julia Avdeeva,
Tamara Zidansek, and
Dayana Yastremska (30th seed). In the Round
of 16, she conceded only three games to eliminate Italian Elisabetta
Cocciaretto.
In the
quarterfinals, she dropped her first set of the tournament and made a comeback
to defeat the 3-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur. Sabalenka's recent loss allows
Gauff to surpass the Belarusian and become the new World No. 2, behind Iga
Swiatek. She will face the No. 1 seed in the semifinals, against whom she holds
a negative record of 1-10.
The
recent US Open champion has finally reached the World No. 2 ranking, marking
the first time since February 2023 that a player other than Sabalenka or Iga
Swiatek has entered the top-2. The American will seek to achieve the feat of
playing in the French Open final for the second time, the first being in 2022
when she also fell to the Polish player.