'No offense to them': Coco Gauff takes dig at American men's players for lack of Grand Slams

America’s Coco Gauff has taken a slight dig at the men’s tennis player from her country. The 21-year-old is rated amongst the best in the world in women’s singles tennis and has already lifted two major titles in her career.

Her first major title came in 2023, where she defeated reigning world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the US Open with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Her second and most recent Grand Slam came earlier this year, where she lifted the French Open, once again after beating Sabalenka in the final, this time with a score of 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Gauff was the second American women’s player to lift a Grand Slam title this year. In January, her fellow countrywoman Madison Keys lifted the Australian Open. Her win also came against Sabalenka in the final with a score of 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. On the other hand, no men’s tennis player has been able to lift a Grand Slam in 22 years.

The last player to do so was the former world number one Andy Roddick, who lifted the US Open in 2003 after beating Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. Recently, in 2024, America’s Taylor Fritz managed to cement a spot in the final of the US Open, but only to lose to reigning world number one Italy’s Jannik Sinner in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Importance of Cincinnati Open

Gauff’s next assignment will be the Cincinnati Open, where her opening fixture will be Wang Xinyu in the round of 64 on Sunday. Gauff spoke to the media ahead of her tournament opener at the WTA 1000 event, where she took a dig at her fellow countryman for not being able to lift a major silverware for a long time.

"It hasn't been much of competition, no offense to them," said Gauff. "They have to catch up. That's the beautiful thing about being an American. All of us look different. We have biracial, black, white [players], all types of representation for girls and guys to look up to in the Top 10, or close to the Top 10. That's something beautiful about our country, how diverse it is, and I hope that in this sport it continues to grow."

For Gauff, the Cincinnati Open remains a special tournament as it was her first big title two years back. She defeated the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4. Talking about that, Gauff highlighted how her triumph two years ago in the same competition helped her win the title. "It gave me the belief that I could win a Slam," Gauff said. "I was searching for a big title. I'd been on tour for a long time and people had those expectations, so for me it meant a lot. ... It was a great statement tournament and led me to believe that I could beat top players."

Gauff will enter the competition with low confidence. Ever since lifting the French Open, not much has gone right for Gauff. She suffered a first-round defeat at the Berlin Open and Wimbledon. Gauff’s most recent outing was at the Canadian Open, where her journey ended in the fourth round as she lost to Canada’s Victoria Mboko in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4. Even though Gauff won two matches in Montreal, her performances were far from perfect. In those two matches, she committed 37 double faults, more than any player at that stage of the competition. It will be the third meeting between Gauff and Wang. In the previous two meetings, both players came out on top on one occasion.