Following her first US Open victory, Coco Gauff said that the Williams Sisters paved the way

After the American teenager won the US Open on Saturday, Coco Gauff claimed tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams helped pave the road for her historic victory.

At the Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she had grown up watching the Williams sisters dominate, the Florida native, at age 19, fought her way to a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.

Gauff’s victory meant that she would go down in tennis history among great Black American female champions like the Williams sisters, Althea Gibson, and Sloane Stephens.

It’s absurd. Gauff remarked of the Williams sisters, “I mean, they’re the reason I got this award today, to be honest.

“They enabled me to grow up believing in this dream. You know, the number of all-Black tennis players dominating the sport wasn’t that high. I can recall when I was younger that it was really just them.

Obviously, their legacy attracted additional people. As a result, the dream seemed more plausible. However, all of the difficulties they faced made it simpler for someone like me to carry out this action.

Gauff referred to Venus Williams’ campaign for equal compensation for women at major competitions and the Williams sisters’ 14-year boycott of the famous Indian Wells event because of alleged racial jeers.

“You look back at the history with Indian Wells, with Serena, all she had to go through, Venus fighting for equal pay,” said Gauff.

Words are inadequate to express how much Venus and Serena Williams meant to me. I want another girl might see this and realize they could succeed. Ideally, their name would also be on the trophy.

Gauff’s historic triumph will elevate her to a new position in the American sporting hierarchy.

Celebrities from Hollywood and sports, including NBA legends Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant, were there to watch the victory on Saturday.

She quickly received a barrage of congratulations from Joe Biden, the current president, and former US President Barack Obama.

Obama congratulated @CocoGauff, the US Open winner, on the X platform, which replaced Twitter.

We are very proud of you both on and off the court, and we are certain that the best is yet to come.

After Saturday’s triumph was over, video of Gauff dancing in the crowd as a spectator at the US Open quickly went viral.

When asked what advice she would give to herself when she was younger, she said, “I would tell her don’t lose that dream.”

Gauff said, “That small child seemed to have the dream, but I’m not sure if she really believed it. You have so many dreams as a child. You know, it may occasionally screw about as you age.I would advise her to hold onto her dream. Continue to have fun.

Gauff said that in the years since she first came to prominence as a 15-year-old prodigy making a strong showing at Wimbledon in 2019, she had sometimes lost faith in herself.

She was devastated after losing her maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open the previous year. After losing in the first round at Wimbledon in July, she struck rock bottom this season.

She hired the seasoned Brad Gilbert to join her coaching staff after that setback at the All England club. Her luck started to turn around almost away, as in August she won the Washington Open before winning her maiden WTA 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open.

“I don’t know, I just got the impression that people were saying, ‘Oh, she’s at her peak and she’s done. Gauff characterized the response after her Wimbledon defeat as “all hype.”

“I can see the remarks. People don’t believe that I see it, but I do, she told the press. “I can’t wait to check Twitter right now because I know who is trash-talking.”

Gauff continued by saying that the agony of her humiliating straight-sets loss to Iga Swiatek in last year’s French Open final, when she won just four games, had served as motivation for her victory on Saturday.

“I witnessed Iga take up the trophy at the French Open, and I watched her the whole time. I don’t know if it was captured on video. I vowed not to look away from her because I wanted to experience what it was like for her.

Lifting this trophy felt like crazy today. It hasn’t set in yet, but I predict that it will in a week or two.