Tennis: Factbox-Tennis-U.S. Open women’s singles champion Coco Gauff

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Factbox on Coco Gauff of the United States, who defeated Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2 to win her maiden Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open on Saturday.

Age: 19

Nation: United States

WTA ranking: 6 (Highest ranking: 4)

Seeding: 6

Grand Slam titles: 1 (U.S. Open 2023)

ROAD TO FINAL

First round: Laura Siegemund (Germany) 3-6 6-2 6-4

Second round: Mirra Andreeva (Russia) 6-3 6-2

Third round: 32-Elise Mertens (Belgium) 3-6 6-3 6-0

Fourth round: Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 6-3 3-6 6-1

Quarter-finals: 20-Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) 6-0 6-2

Semi-finals: 10-Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic) 6-4 7-5

EARLY LIFE

* Started playing tennis aged six. Growing up, her tennis idols were Serena and Venus Williams.

CAREER TO DATE

* A former world number one junior, Gauff started her professional career on the ITF circuit in 2018.

* Won her maiden WTA singles title in 2019 at Linz and came to prominence when she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon as a qualifier, where she was beaten by eventual champion Simona Halep. Also won two doubles titles with Caty McNally.

* Reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2020 and cracked the top 50 in the world for the first time.

* Won her second WTA singles title at Parma in 2021 and reached the quarter-finals of the French Open, where she lost to eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova. Gauff also reached the U.S. Open women’s doubles final with McNally.

* Lost to Iga Swiatek in the French Open final in 2022. Finished runners-up in the women’s doubles final at the same tournament alongside Jessica Pegula.

* Gauff claimed the biggest title to date of her career at the Cincinnati Open in 2023. Also won in Washington D.C. in the build-up to the U.S. Open.

* Beat Sabalenka to become the first American woman to win the U.S. Open since Sloane Stephens in 2017.

(Compiled by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)