Coco Gauff showed the tennis world her true potential in 2023, but she's yet to dominate the game as many expect her to.
When the young American showed her potential to everyone at Wimbledon four years ago as a 15-year-old, huge predictions started to appear, and many went as far as comparing her to Serena Williams.
So far, she's yet to come close to those heights, but it can still be possible, mainly because Gauff already tasted major success in 2023, and with the next season ahead of us, she can go even a step further.
First of all, it's important to avoid having big expectations from Gauff. She's still only 19, and even if 2024 wouldn't be her major breakthrough year, there are still many seasons on the WTA Tour left in her career.
But already in 2023, she showed that she's ready for stardom, and in 2024, she can rise to it, and she certainly has at least five ingredients needed to achieve major success.
5. Brad Gilbert
Some of the most important people in athletes' lives are their coaches. Ahead of the 2023 Wimbledon, the teenager added Pere Riba to her coaching team, and soon after that, another important man joined the team.
Brad Gilbert started coaching Gauff, and the two proved to be a successful pairing. And with the departure of Riba, they will continue to work together throughout the 2024 season.
Gilbert is an experienced voice in the American's team, and having coached former world no. 1 players such as Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray, he's ready to take another player to the top spot.
4. Beating Iga Swiatek
As trivial as it sounds, beating Iga Swiatek at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters may be a crucial moment in Gauff's career. Before the match, she lost to her in seven consecutive matches, losing all 14 sets.
Although Gauff lost the following two matches after the win and currently holds a 1-9 record against the Polish player, knowing that she can beat Swiatek is very important.
If she wants to win big titles, she has to beat the best players, and currently, Swiatek is the best player in the world, meaning that Gauff will most likely have to face her. If she entered the 2024 season with a 0-10 record, things wouldn't be looking too positive, but believe it or not, that one win makes all the difference.
3. Doubles Riddance
Gauff is a very successful doubles player, becoming the world no. 1 in her young career already, but there's a reason why the majority of successful singles players focus only on singles and don't play doubles.
Although doubles may have taught the American many important lessons, at one point in her career, she had to start focusing only on singles, and it seems that the 2024 season will be the year.
Gauff was the first player since 2009 to finish in the Top 3 in both singles and doubles, but as her doubles partner Jessica Pegula disclosed, the two may stop playing after the 2024 Paris Olympics.
That will give Gauff more time to focus on her singles career, something that may be necessary to make the next big step that she wants and needs to make.
2. Down To Earth Personality
Even despite the major success and becoming a superstar after her US Open win, according to people close to her, Gauff is still a very humble, down-to-earth person.
Not flying too high is a very important trait to have because early success could blind Gauff's eyes, and that's something that she doesn't want. She needs to see a clear path ahead of her, one that she already knows the final destination of.
1. Having Tasted Success
At the 2023 US Open, Gauff won her maiden Grand Slam title and entered the Top 3 of the WTA Rankings. It was the first breakthrough for the American, but she knows that to join the elite company, she needs many more majors.
Knowing how it feels to play her best tennis over two weeks, beating seven different players, handling the expectations of the rowdy New York crowd, and dealing with late-night matches and schedule changes is an invaluable experience.
On top of that, Gauff tasted the success, and as addictive as it is, she will want to taste that success again, motivating her to win another Grand Slam title.
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