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Last year, in a video produced by Baker Tilly, Coco Gauff spoke about how Venus and Serena Williams “made a difference” to her at the start of her burgeoning tennis career. Gauff has come a long way, and so has American women’s tennis in general. This year, we’ve seen plenty of American women’s stars, including Gauff and Keys, doing wonders at the major events, and guess what? Currently, there are five American women in the Top 11 of the singles rankings.

What’s the secret to this rapid success over the past couple of years, specifically? Recalling that unforgettable moment of watching Venus Williams from the second row at the US Open, Gauff said “That’s what pushes me to keep going. Just because the sport is predominantly white, you believe you can do that passion when you see somebody that looks like you being successful.”

She now hopes to be that belief for somebody else. The 21-year-old Coco Gauff is now not only ranked second in the world, but she has already won two major titles in her career, with the latest coming this year at the 2025 French Open. She’s now all set to start her campaign at the North American hard-court swing in Montreal, but before that, at the National Bank Open pre-tournament presser, she was asked to speak a little bit about the main factors behind the recent surge in American women’s tennis. In reply to this, Gauff said, “I think well, I guess if we go like long-term effect…for sure the Williams sisters and making tennis I feel like a more popular sport for people to play in the US.

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Having said that, she also mentioned, “Obviously, we have great icons like Chris Evert and Lindsay Davenport, but I didn’t grow up watching them, and I don’t know if a lot of the players right now in the Top 10 grew up watching them just because of the age difference.” Gauff also spoke about how tennis has become a very popular sport among women in the US. Other than drawing motivation from these tennis greats, what else has led to this recent rise in American women’s tennis?

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Replying to this, Coco Gauff admitted that seeing one person do well made others step up as well. “I think you see one person do well and you’ve probably beaten them in a practice set once in a time ago, and you’re like, ‘Okay, if they made a grand slam final, then I can too,’ and I think that’s what we have the camaraderie amongst us,” said Gauff. Other than their strong camaraderie, she also spoke about how they root for each other, practice with each other, and help elevate each other’s game in various ways.

So, the secret to the recent success is more of a combination of all of these, and Coco Gauff feels “great” to see American tennis doing well on both sides, but especially on the women’s side. However, this wasn’t the first time that she spoke about Chris Evert.

Last year, during an interview, Gauff was asked to shed light on how big Evert’s impact has been in her career. Replying to that, she admitted that she didn’t grow up watching a lot of her tapes, but she claimed that she has had the chance to know her off the court a little bit more. “She’s a very, very kind person. She texts me sometimes. I always try to text her, especially with the recent news of her illness and everything. As far as like her impact on tennis, she’s definitely one of the first names people think of. Just timeless,” said Coco Gauff

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If we take a look at the performances of the American women’s stars in the 2025 season, other than Madison Keys (AO) and Coco Gauff’s (French Open) Grand Slam triumphs, players like Amanda Anisimova, McCartney Kessler, Jessica Pegula, and Emma Navarro also tasted title triumphs this year. In fact, Anisimova also came inches closer to lifting the title at Wimbledon, but Iga Swiatek shattered her dreams with a 57-minute 6-0,6-0 win in the final. What do the other American tennis players have to say about the rise of American women’s tennis?

What’s your perspective on:

Is Coco Gauff the new face of American tennis, or do the Williams sisters still reign supreme?

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Coco Gauff’s incredible dominance earns praise from the community

Coco Gauff has now already won 10 titles in her career, and that includes two Grand Slam triumphs. She has been leading the pack in recent times when it comes to American women’s tennis. Earlier in this season, Taylor Fritz was heard admitting how Gauffcarriedthe torch and Team USA to victory at the 2025 United Cup.

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Later on, while speaking about the future of American women’s tennis, Jessica Pegula stated,I just think that our depth is pretty incredible. I think it has been, though, honestly, for a few years now. I think we’re just seeing more Americans, maybe in the top 10, obviously top 20, for sure. That’s definitely a big change. You know, having Coco and Maddie win Slams over the last couple of years as Americans is huge for women’s tennis or for women’s tennis in America.” 

Even Madison Keys spoke about how consistent the American women’s players have been in recent times. Recently, the 20-year-old American tennis player, Alex Michelsen, gave an exclusive interview to EssentiallySports, and during that interview, he was asked to share his thoughts about women’s tennis flying so high in his country.

Addressing that question, Michelsen gave a special mention to Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula for their consistent performances and claimed that he feels American tennis is in a really good spot right now. Michelsen also added,I think you know the women, especially Coco (Gauff), is helping out a lot with tennis in America. So, super happy with where the game’s at in our country right now.” 

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Is Coco Gauff the new face of American tennis, or do the Williams sisters still reign supreme?

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