Coco Gauff has one Grand Slam title to her name, but one of Serena Williams' former coaches is convinced she will add many more.
It is easy for fans to forget how young Gauff still is. More than five years have passed since she made her breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2019, progressing to the fourth round as a 15-year-old.
That included a victory against Venus Williams, one of Gauff's idols growing up. Many felt the American was destined for greatness after competing like that at a Grand Slam at such a young age.
Gauff has managed those expectations superbly in the last five years. Battling such intense media scrutiny as a young teenager would undoubtedly have broken other players.
She won her maiden title at the US Open last year by overcoming Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Gauff lost the opening set but showed remarkable mental fortitude to dig in and turn the final around.
However, there have also been challenging moments during Gauff's career. For example, she parted ways with coach Brad Gilbert last month after suffering a drop in form during the previous few months.
The 20-year-old returned to form during the Asian swing with new coach Matt Daly. Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova to win her second WTA-1000 title at the China Open before reaching the Wuhan Open semifinals.
Those two achievements were enough for Gauff to rise in this week's rankings. She became the new world No. 3 and American No. 1 by overtaking her frequent doubles partner, Jessica Pegula.
Gauff's achievements for someone still so young are phenomenal. The depth and quality of the women's game, including Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, means that winning more significant titles will require great tennis from last year's US Open winner.
One man who is sure Gauff will succeed in the future is Rick Macci, who has coached Serena and Venus Williams and other former world No. 1's such as Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova.
The 69-year-old outlined in a post on X (formerly Twitter) why he thinks Gauff will win multiple Grand Slam titles in the future.
"Time dictates greatness. Time never lies. Time is on her side. With her sprinter speed bullet backhand and a backbone made of granite and lets plug in that extreme DNA athletic ability Coco Gauff in Time will Time and Time again be a multiple Grand Slam Champion."
The attributes Macci lists are hard to argue against. Gauff's backhand is widely considered the best in the women's game, she is also a contender for the best athlete on the WTA Tour, and has repeatedly shown her mental strength by winning tough battles.
This is not the first time Macci has outlined his belief in the 2022 French Open runner-up. He thinks Gauff's sometimes troublesome second serve could be fixed in less than one hour and that she would be challenging to stop afterward.
Although Gauff only started working with new coach Matt Daly last month, the early signs were very positive, and he could be the right person to help her take the next step and win multiple Grand Slams.
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