Martina Navratilova predicts how many Grand Slams Coco Gauff will win

Kevin Palmer 10 Sep 2023 8:35 AM

Coco Gauff celebrates victory at the US Open

Coco Gauff’s US Open triumph was a Grand Slam-winning moment that will be etched into tennis folklore – and Martina Navratilova believes it will be the first of many majors for the American teenager.

The 19-year-old became the first American teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.

Williams’ final farewell to tennis at the same championships last year left a colossal void in tennis in the US.

So it felt only natural that Gauff, the heir apparent to the 23-time grand slam winner, stepped into her shoes 12 months later.

Now the debate will start over how many major titles Gauff can win in her career, with 18-time Grand Slam-winning Martina Navratiola convinced this will be the first of many.

“She will win double-figure majors if she stays fit,” Navratilova told Sky Sports.

“We were talking the big three. Now it’s the big four. It’s Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff.

“She has no pressure on her now because now she’s won this one, so the expectations have been met. I think the confidence that she’ll get from this, she’s just getting started. Now she’s got some time to get better.

“Neither player played their best tennis but Coco played the best tennis when she needed to get back into the match in the second set. In the third set she played smart. She didn’t give Sabalenka anything to hit.

“Just see how much it meant to her. You have to trust yourself that you can put it together.”

“She’s such a great role model for young kids growing up who want to play tennis or just achieve something because she had a dream. Now she’s achieved it.

“She’s one of those people that will make a difference in the world in a positive way.”

Former British No 1 Johanna Konta also gave her verdict to Sky Sports, as she saluted Gauff’s first major win.

“It has been incredible just to see the way she has taken such responsibility for her career at such an early age,” said Konta.

“She’s accumulated so much experience that it is showing through in her ability now to bounce back the way she was able to, problem solve out there and the way she’s able to consistently compete and consistently perform in the toughest stages.

“This is an incredibly tough stage to handle and she just did it so magnificently.”

Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli believes Gauff confirmed she is a champion by bouncing back from losing the first set against Sabalenka.

“That bounce back for me was most impressive. Bouncing back from losing the first set after not playing well,” said Bartoli.

“She honestly didn’t play a good first set. She was not hitting the forehand. She was double-faulting.

“The way she just mentally stuck to it. She was talking to herself, fist-pumping to herself, whether she was winning or losing the point.

“She’s only 19. She never won a Grand Slam before but she kept her head down, she kept on really staying extremely calm throughout that situation.

“Obviously the crowd pushing for her massively helps in that situation, let’s face it. When you feel that, you feel you have 24,000 people playing with you and that gives you wings on the court.

“She’s so poised, so calm, not getting stressed. That for me was the most impressive part of that match.”