Coco Gauff jumps in last minute in attempt to save US team despite initial absence
WTA
Coco Gauff traveled the Glasgow to help her country at the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Gauff is the future of American tennis, and currently, she's the second-highest-ranked US player in singles and No. 1 in doubles. Since Jessica Pegula didn't travel to Glasgow, the 18-year-old American is the leading player of the US team in both singles and doubles.
However, due to her participation at the 2022 WTA Finals, she was initially excluded from the team's lineup against Poland in their opening tie of the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
The World No. 7 player in the WTA Rankings traveled 23 hours from Fort Worth, Texas, to Glasgow in Scotland, so it was expected that she wouldn't play in the first tie against Poland.
Yet, after Danielle Collins defeated Magdalena Frech, things didn't go so well for the American team. Madison Keys lost to Magda Linette in three sets, and the tie had to be decided in the doubles match.
Initially, Caty McNally was supposed to team up with Taylor Townsend, but a last-minute change was made. Gauff will join her very good friend and player who she played with in the 2021 US Open doubles final.
They will take on Magda Linette and Alicja Rosolska in a deciding match of the first tie against Poland. After her arrival in Glasgow, Gauff spoke about how she enjoys the team environment.
"Texas didn’t go the way I wanted it to go. That motivated me even more to come here. It’s very rare tennis experiences a team atmosphere. I played other team sports like basketball. That’s the one thing I did miss from playing (basketball). The Billie Jean King Cup is what brings you closest to that."
"Obviously it was a great year. I have a lot of high expectations for myself. Overall, I think it’s the best year of my career so far. It’s the most I’ve played tournament-wise. I hope next year is even better."
Eventually, the young American duo needed only 47 minutes to beat the Polish team and secure the needed point for Team US.
