Culture | The sports page

Coco Gauff risks joining the ranks of tennis’s nearly-greats

Like several of the sport’s best players, her struggles against a particular rival could be career-altering

Coco Gauff of the United States in action at the baseline of the court, in the first round on Day 1 of the US Open.
Photograph: Getty Images

COCO GAUFF is the reigning US Open tennis champion and third in the world rankings. Yet at the start of this year’s tournament, which started on August 26th, she was rated fourth-favourite to win, a long way behind the top seeds. The main reason is her abysmal record against her biggest rival: Iga Swiatek of Poland. Ms Gauff, an American, has improved in recent years—she is after all still only 20, three years younger than Ms Swiatek—and now plays at almost the same exalted level as the Pole. Yet in 12 matches between the pair, she has won just two sets.

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