Coco Gauff could become world no. 1 on the WTA Tour, and while that's not possible in 2023, she can do that early in 2024.
The young American won her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open, and while that checked a lot of boxes in her achievements column, there are a few more still left, and one of them is the world No. 1 spot in the WTA Rankings.
Gauff actually already reached the world no. 1 spot in her career, but in doubles. But now, thanks to 2000 points from her US Open triumph, she has a chance to reach the top spot also in singles.
Thanks to the rankings accumulating points over a 52-week period, the teenager will keep her 2000 points from Flushing Meadows until the 2024 US Open, meaning that she has plenty of chances to improve her career-high third place in the WTA Rankings.
On top of that, Gauff won the Cincinnati Masters and the Citi Open in a lead-up to the US Open, giving her additional 1370 points, meaning that 3370 out of her 5955 points accumulated in 2023 came during the US strech.
Yet, that point-total is not yet definite, as the American still has the 2023 WTA Finals to play, and that's the event where she can set the foundations for the future success in 2024, by chasing down the current world no. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, and woman that spent 75 weeks as the world no. 1, Iga Swiatek.
The Belarusian currently leads with 8425 points, while the Polish player has 7795 points, both having quite a significant margin over Gauff. But that will become much smaller early in the 2024 season.
Already at the first major of the year, Sabalenka will defend her title, and with it, also 2000 points, what means that Gauff's deficit would be cut from current 2470 points to only 950 points, considering her own points that she's set to defend early in the season.
Similarly, Swiatek earned the majority of her points in the first half of the season, and that will be the time when Gauff will have a chance to become the world no. 1, and doing well at the WTA Finals would only boost her chances of doing so.
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