At 15 years and three months, Coco Gauff came through qualifying into the 2019 Wimbledon main draw, the youngest player to do so in the Open era, then beat five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round and ran on to the fourth. The American, born in Boca Raton and raised in Delray Beach, Florida, turned that fearless debut into 2 Grand Slam singles titles, one on each of two surfaces. She won the US Open on home hard courts in 2023, then the Roland Garros clay in 2025, beating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets in both finals.
The game underneath is speed and defence. Gauff covers a court as well as anyone on tour, dragging rallies she looks to be losing back into ones she wins, which is why the finals against Sabalenka and the long duels with Iga Swiatek so often go the distance. She rose to a career-high world No. 2 in singles in June 2024 and has held the doubles No. 1 ranking as well, her 13 career titles built out from one major on hard and one on clay. Still one of the youngest players near the top, she has time to add more.
Five hundred and eighty. That is the ranking of Thea Frodin, the wildcard who opens the US Open against second seed Elena Rybakina. The women's singles draw was made today, ahead of the tournament's start on 30 August, with top seed Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and defending champion, opening against Camila Osorio.
Draw taleFifty. That is Diane Parry's new ranking, the French 23-year-old up 16 places from No. 66 to break into the top 50. The top four held station this week; Aryna Sabalenka held No. 1 without a deep run of her own, so the story sits lower down the list, with Xiyu Wang making the week's biggest jump, up 26 places to No. 82.
Ranking tale