Cori Gauff (aka: Coco) is our WTA mover of the week. The fifteen-year-old American has been turning heads as a junior tennis player for a long time; but many more people are aware of her now because she dominated the tennis spotlight earlier this season with her fourth round run at Wimbledon.
WTA Age Eligibility Rule
Long time tennis fans remember when teenagers were the norm in the top ten and it was a normal occurrence to see teenagers winning majors and titles, but the WTA changed their age eligibility rule in 1994 because some teenage players did not handle their success well. Since then, players under the age of fourteen can no longer participate in any professional tennis tournament on the WTA Tour or the ITF Women’s Circuit.
Gauff’s Junior Career
Yet, there has been talk about revising the age eligibility rule after Gauff’s performance at thirteen years old. While Guff never ended a year as the number one junior player, the thirteen-year-old was a finalist of the 2017 US Open junior tournament and she won the 2018 French Open junior championship title.
I saw Gauff play in person for the first time in the qualifying rounds of the 2018 US Open; while she did not win that match, I remembered walking away thinking how composed she looked for someone so young.
Gauff Wins First WTA Title
The talent has always been there. Sadly, the records are filled with many junior major champions who never fulfilled their potential; however, Gauff seems intent on making sure that she fulfills her potential. Winning her first WTA Tour singles title in Linz is definitely a step in the right direction for the fifteen-year-old and we wish her much continued success.
WTA Top 100 Ranking Changes
| NAME | SPOTS MOVED | NEW RANKING |
| Cori Gauff (USA) | UP 39 | 71 CAREER HIGH |
| Heather Watson (USA) | UP 37 | 88 |
| Camila Giorgi (ITA) | DOWN 29 | 92 |
| Rebecca Peterson (SWE) | UP 15 | 44 CAREER HIGH |
WTA: there were no changes amongst the top twenty members; Ashleigh Barty continues to reign at #1, with a pretty significant lead.
SOURCE OF IMAGE: serveandrally originals
