At 17 years old, Coco Gauff is making her presence known at the French Open with a skill set that transcends her age and experience. The rising tennis star has now cemented herself as the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals in the Grand Slam since Venus Williams.
According to Business Insider, Gauff is the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals since Nicole Vaidisova in 2006. She's also the youngest American since Williams at the 1997 U.S. Open.
Gauff, who is ranked No. 25 in the world, made quick work of Ons Jabeur, defeating her in straight sets of 6-3 and 6-1 in less than an hour on Monday.
The young phenom is use to having her age instead of her play be the dominant topic of the discussion, but that doesn’t seem to bother her at all.
“I don't really care if you guys talk about my age or not. I'm 17. That's the truth," Gauff told reporters after her match. "I promise you my opponents don't care about how old I am. They want to beat me just as bad regardless of my age, and I want to beat them just as bad regardless of their age. I'm only going to be 17 once, so you might as well talk about it while I'm 17!"
While her age is usually a major talking point, Gauff is showing the world that she's never too old to sharpen her skills and learn new techniques.
"I'm going to always still be learning no matter how many matches I win," Gauff said. "But for me, it's just being patient.”
With her win, Gauff now qualifies to compete in the U.S. Olympics tennis team, which takes place later this summer in Tokyo. Gauff will join the likes of Serena Williams, Sofia Kenin and Jennifer Brady.
"I feel like in the past, I felt like I was satisfied with the run I made in the tournament, so maybe I feel like I came into the matches … I guess, not as hungry,” Gauff said in a press conference after her victory.
"I know it's probably not a good thing to say, but it's the truth. But I think, with a lot of young players, I think we tend to get satisfied with just, you know, the small results — not small results but certain results — before we realize that we can really shoot for more,” she added.
In an athletic sense, it’s going to be a “hot girl summer” for Gauff as she keeps advancing at the French Open and being a major player on the U.S. Olympic Tennis team.
"My message has always been 'Dream big and aim higher.' I think that today was honestly coming from that message of aiming higher,” Gauff remarked.
Coco Gauff is shining all across the world and we love to see it.