There are various current names in the world of tennis that shine and sparkle just like their predecessors.
Past names like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Serena Williams have moved on from the sport, leaving behind a host of new stars to take on the mantle.
Players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have emerged as just some of the newest names to break the tennis mould.
However, one player has been labelled as the ‘biggest star’ in tennis, above the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner.
David Law says Coco Gauff is the ‘biggest star in the sport’
A shock reverberated around the Wimbledon grounds on Tuesday night – Coco Gauff had been knocked out of the tournament in the first round.
Gauff, who was handed a dream draw at SW19, struggled throughout the contest, losing 6-7 1-6 to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.
The result and performance was a far cry from her brilliant outing at the French Open in June, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final to win her second Grand Slam.
However, Gauff’s star status in the sport cannot be denied, and Catherine Whitaker and David Law were quick to point this out on The Tennis Podcast.
Speaking on Tuesday evening, Catherine Whitaker said: “I also think in particular for her [Gauff] with winning the French Open, it is the one that has the least gap between it and the next slam.
“She is American and she’s an enormous star in America. There were demands for her media-wise that I don’t think there would be for anybody else in the sport to go back to the States and do press that you could only do by going back to the states all the all the morning shows, you know, big deal stuff.
“I’m not judging her for that, you can’t really turn down, and it’s a big deal for tennis. It’s great to see tennis getting exposure on shows like that, but that’s different to how it would be for pretty much anybody else.”
David Law went a step further, claiming that Gauff is a ‘bigger star’ than Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
He said: “She is the biggest star in the sport, really. Ahead of Alcaraz and Sinner. Coco Gauff is the most important player in tennis right now, in terms of profile.
“And she carries it incredibly well. Yeah, it was a lot. And she’s young, she’s getting used to it as she goes.”
Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon struggles
Grass is clearly the surface that Coco Gauff struggles on the most. Even when removing her shock results at Wimbledon and the Berlin Grass Court Championships, Gauff has a history of poor results on the green surface.
In six attempts at the championships, Gauff has never made it past the round of 16, losing in the first round twice.
At the Berlin Grass Court Championships, she lost in the round of 16 to Wang Xinyu, 3-6 3-6.
| Year | Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon Performance |
| 2019 | Fourth Round |
| 2020 | Did not play |
| 2021 | Fourth Round |
| 2022 | Third Round |
| 2023 | First Round |
| 2024 | Fourth Round |
| 2025 | First Round |
Gauff will look to bounce back from her grass court disappointment when she plays at the US Open later this year. The American won her first Grand Slam title at the tournament in 2023.
