Coco Gauff's emergence as arguably the biggest star of American tennis since Serena Williams is great for the women's game, says former British number one Laura Robson.
Gauff captured the imagination of the American public by winning the US Open last September, the 19-year-old fighting back to beat Aryna Sabalenka in a memorable final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
That made the teenager the first American – male or female – to win the tournament since Williams, who won the event for the sixth time in 2014. Gauff, Williams and her sister Venus are the only American women to claim the trophy in the 21st century.
Gauff will look to back up that success at the Australian Open when the first major of the year begins on Sunday, and Robson is delighted to see her thriving after being criticised earlier in 2023.
"I love what she's done in the last three months in particular, because over the clay courts and the grass-court season, everyone was writing her off," Robson told Stats Perform.
"She just went back to the drawing board, got a new team around her, played unbelievably at the Cincinnati Masters and came into the US Open with confidence.
"You could tell, with the way that she played the longer matches, she just felt so good about her game. You could see how she was moving out there.
"She is definitely the fastest out on tour at the moment on the women's side. I'm just super pumped for her.
"To be in the stadium and to feel the energy when she won the US Open was crazy.
"I'd say 99.99 per cent of the stadium was going for her and it's going to be a huge boost for women's tennis to have an American superstar like her."
Asked whether Gauff was the natural successor to Williams – who finished her glittering career one major title shy of Margaret Court's record of 24 – Robson said other players' efforts to push American tennis forward should not be overlooked.
"I definitely feel like Jessica Pegula and Madison keys and people like that don't quite get enough credit for how much they've pushed American tennis," Robson continued.
"Even going into the US Open, Pegula was the number one American, but Coco definitely had more attention on her, which is great because their different profiles are being raised, but at the same time they were still pushing each other along and playing doubles together almost every week.
"It's just fantastic to see and the fact that there's now another name that you're throwing into the mix just makes everyone feel better."
Gauff currently sits a career-high third in the world rankings, though she has plenty of ground to make up on the top two, with Iga Swiatek currently edging out Sabalenka.
Robson expects that duo to trade places often as they battle to dominate the women's game, saying: "You definitely struggle to see Swiatek losing at Roland Garros, with the way that she goes on clay.
"I think it's going to be quite nice because they each have different strengths. You would almost say Sabalenka goes slightly better on a hard court and Iga is better on clay.
"I can see it almost swapping back and forth over the next few years, but Iga is going to be right in there, for sure."
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
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