Coco Gauff Reaches Her First U.S. Open Single Finals

Coco Gauff extended her incredible summer run by defeating Karolina Muchova 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday to earn a spot in Saturday’s US Open final.

Gauff, the sixth seed, has won 11 straight matches, the longest streak of her career, and 17 of 18, including titles in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati.

She’ll face No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, who beat No.17 Madison Keys in a third-set tiebreak in the night’s second match.

It was a tough match,” Gauff said later in the press. “I had leads, lost it. It was a lot of emotional, I guess, challenges in the match. But I think I did a good job of staying focused.”

The match was delayed for 49 minutes during the second set due to a climate change protest that sent the players to the locker room.

To put Gauff’s win into context, she is the youngest of the four semifinalists by nearly six years. Gauff, 19, is also the youngest US women’s tennis player to reach the US Open final since Serena Williams in 1999.

She aims to become the fourth American woman to win the Open this century, following Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Sloane Stephens.

“I have been focusing more on myself and my expectations,” Gauff said. “Not going on social media. … I really believe that now I have the maturity and ability to do it. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, I’m really proud of how I have been handling the last few weeks.”

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Furthermore, Gauff is the youngest woman to compete in multiple Grand Slam finals (including the 2020 Roland Garros) since Maria Sharapova (2004 Wimbledon and 2006 US Open) and the youngest American woman to do so since Monica Seles (1990-93).