Tennis breakthroughs come in all different forms; there are smashing debuts, lightning-in-a-bottle tournaments. Saturday afternoon at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, we saw another variation: Poised and professional. A player who wasn’t necessarily at her best, but did what was needed to win.
That was Coco Gauff, who claimed her first Major title, winning the 2023 U.S. Open women’s title by beating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
After losing the first set, Gauff would simply not be denied. And to the delight of a highly partisan crowd of 25,000—which included the likes of Kevin Garnett, Eli Manning and Mia Farrow mixed with thousands of fans attending their first match—she made history. That this victory came a year after Serena Williams announced her retirement at the same event added a layer of symmetry.
