Tennis commentator Mark Petchey clarified and defended his audacious claim, calling teenage phenom Coco Gauff 'the best women's athlete to ever play tennis'.
Gauff won a maiden US Open title in early September in front of her home fans. It was a seismic moment in her career and the kind of tectonic shift that catapulted Gauff from a potential elite to an actual elite. Gauff has since risen to a career-high ranking of World No. 3.
Petchey, a former ATP pro himself, and currently working as a match commentator, is one of the most eloquent and revered men on the booth. But his recent bold claim of Gauff surprised many tennis fans, who felt that the veteran commentator had gone over the top with his assessment.
The 53-year-old took to social media platform X to respond to a comment from former American player Tim Mayotte who felt that it was still too early to form such rapid conclusions about Gauff, to which Petchey defended himself. The Tennis Channel commentator believes being the best athlete is irrespective of Grand Slams won.
There is a strong case that Petchey could implicitly be referring to physique, stamina, and endurance, although he did not enlist the attributes of 'the best athlete'. He argues how Gael Monfils is regarded so highly in that category on the ATP despite the Frenchman not winning any majors.
"I was making the observation I believe Coco is the best female athlete I have ever seen. What does winning Majors have to do with that? When we talk about the best male tennis athletes most agree Gael Monfils is the best we have had recently. No one then starts talking about his lack of Majors but many agree he is arguably the best."
"I don’t believe the metric for best ever athlete should be Majors. However, as you are someone who believes in technique as much as I do, isn’t the fact Coco won the US Open with a forehand, most agree is suboptimal in terms of technique, further testament to the argument she is could be the best tennis female athlete ever?"
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