“Steffi Graf saw it twelve times!” How the well-known rollerblade Starlight was made…
Cori “Coco” Gauff, according to former world No. 1 Steffi Graf, is headed for stardom. The 15-year-old American had an incredible 2019 season, qualifying for the Wimbledon last 16 and the U.S. Open third round.
When Gauff won the championship in Linz, Austria, earlier this month, she became the youngest woman to win a WTA Tour tournament in fifteen years. She started the year ranked 685th in the world and is expected to end it ranked 68th.
Graf, a 22-time major singles winner from Germany, told reporters at the WTA Zhuhai Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China on Tuesday, “It’s going to be incredible to follow her the next few years.” She has such a natural sense of style and talent. Thus, in my opinion, she won’t want any assistance or advise at all.
Graf, a teenage prodigy herself, began competing professionally in what was then West Germany at the age of twelve. She won her maiden grand slam singles title at the 1987 French Open, five years later. Graf, known as “Fraulein Forehand” due to her explosive forehand, was so dominant that in 1988 she won the gold medal in singles tennis at the Olympics and swept all four major tournaments. Graf retired from professional tennis at the age of thirty in 1999, having advanced to the Wimbledon finals and won the Roland-Garros tournament.
Gauff won’t be able to play a full schedule until March 2022, when she turns 18, unlike Graf. The women’s WTA Tour implemented an age eligibility requirement in the mid-1990s to safeguard the health of emerging athletes and avoid burnout during the early stages of their careers.
