Aged 15 years and 2 months, 2018 Roland-Garros junior champion Coco Gauff becomes the youngest female player to win a Grand Slam match (qualies or main draw) since Martina Hingis at the 1995 Australian Open.

She's one of a kind, definitely.#RG19

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) May 21, 2019

Don’t let yesterday’s loss to Juvan fool you—Gauff is very much on the way to making a big splash on the tour but we must remember that she’s barely turned 15 and even an 18-year-old like Juvan, who proved to be a savvy clay-courter and a relentless presence from the baseline, can seem rather mature and experienced when juxtaposed against Gauff.

That should and likely will change in a few years as Gauff, a wildly athletic and graceful athlete that cuts a sleek, menacing figure on court not all that different than the one Venus Williams' cut in her younger years, continues to grow into her body and evolves into a more mature physical presence.

But we digress…

Juvan was the better player from start to finish over the course of her 80-minute 6-3 6-3 victory over Gauff on Thursday and it was still quite interesting to watch Gauff try to deal with Juvan’s made-for-clay game. There were plenty of middle-length rallies and the young American was forced to strike a lot of head-high balls on the forehand side. This is where Gauff struggled to control the rallies. With her lean, sinewy physique, Gauff showed an ability to muscle those high forehands and get them back over the net, but many times ineffectually, and it was during these types of rallies where she was at the mercy of Juvan.



Over time Gauff will likely improve in this regard. Against Juvan she showed plenty of good tennis—deep, penetrating groundstrokes that barely cleared the net (she plays with very low margin and it’s natural to think she might end up being more lethal on grass and hard courts as she develops), booming serves and a fantastic feel for the net. But she wasn’t able to take Juvan off her game often and certainly not often enough.

This caused frustration and it showed on Gauff’s face. She seemed to have a good idea of what she was up against and how much it would take for her to win this match if Juvan kept playing at such a high level (she did). As the contest wore on Gauff never ever got close to melting down (credit’s due here), but she did toss a racquet (gently) in frustration and generally exhibited the body language of a player unable to find the necessary solutions.

Even if it's not ideal there’s no shame in that. Gauff’s future is bright, and as I mentioned, she showed so much potential in winning a match at her first Grand Slam qualifying event, over 26-year-old Ankita Raina of India, and playing bravely against Juvan.

15 years old.

Last time she’ll ever need a Roland-Garros wildcard? 🙏@CocoGauff | #RG19 pic.twitter.com/8Og0ehSmAU

— Mouratoglou Tennis Academy 🎾 (@MouratoglouAcad) May 23, 2019