Coco Gauff has been one of the most impressive young players in tennis' history, and her latest feat only proves that.
Gauff emerged as a young prodigy at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships when she was only 15 years old. She beat tennis legend Venus Williams in the opening round and reached the fourth round of the tournament.
She followed up on that achievement and built her ranking so she could enter all tournaments directly without having to play the qualifiers or rely on the wild cards.
That meant that Gauff played almost all Grand Slam and WTA 1000 tournaments from a very young age. During her teenage years, she broke many 'teenager' records, but she keeps breaking them also after turning 20.
At the 2024 China Open, where she currently competes, the youngster broke yet another record mark, which lasted quite a while. At the WTA 1000 tournament, she started with a win against Clara Burel, which was her 46th at the WTA 1000 level.
After that, she was also able to outplay Katie Boulter, recording her 47th victory at the WTA 1000 level. That mark is the best-ever achieved by a player younger than 21 on the WTA Tour.
She bested the record mark previously set by Caroline Wozniacki, who won 46 matches at the WTA 1000 level before turning 21. It's important to note that this format was introduced only in 2009.
However, plenty of other players who already possess legendary status or are on their way to it have recorded fewer wins at the WTA 1000 level before turning 21.
The highest of those on the list is Iga Swiatek. The reigning World No. 1 player recorded 25 victories at WTA 1000 tournaments before turning 21. That is five less than Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who is third on the list with 30 victories.
Bianca Andreescu and Daria Kasatkina were both very successful as young players, winning 24 matches at the WTA 1000 level before turning 21.
Gauff will turn 21 in March, which means that she will have plenty more time to add to this record. She's still in the draw for the China Open, and there is one more WTA 1000 tournament to be played this year, the Wuhan Open.
At the China Open, her next match can be against a four-time Grand Slam champion, as the winner of a meeting between Naomi Osaka and Katie Volynets will await her in the tournament's fourth round.
Last year, Gauff reached the semi-finals in Beijing, so if she wants to defend her points earned at the tournament in the Chinese capital, she must get past the fourth-round hurdle.
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