Coco Gauff Excited About Future Growth After Noting Three US Open Semifinalists Are Older Than Her: “How Far I’ve Come”

Coco Gauff‘s winning streak of 11 matches ended on Thursday (September 10). In her second US Open semifinal, Gauff suffered a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Elena Rybakina.

Gauff, the 22-year-old, is the youngest of the three semifinalists (Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, and Jessica Pegula). She is proud of how far she has come since turning pro at the age of 14, having reached a career-best ranking of No.2 plus took home two Grand Slam singles titles, as well as four WTA 1000s. The World No.4 is excited about her progress over the next few years.

I think I played almost every match on my terms. The worst match for me was maybe the quarterfinal where I fell back in some old habits. But in 24 hours I was able to switch that. I’m looking at the other women, the other semifinalists, they’re older than me. Like three, four years older than me.

Coco Gauff said at the press conference

She has already added the US Open to her trophy cabinet. It was at Flushing Meadows in 2023 when she beat Sabalenka to win her career’s first Grand Slam title. Gauff next doubled the tally when she defeated Sabalenka in last year’s French Open final.

I’m trying to think of how much work I put in here, how far I’ve come. Now I’m just excited to keep putting in the work for another year, another two years, and see where I’m at age 24, 25. And where my game can take me. Hopefully it can be on the winning end of matches like this.

Coco Gauff added

In the other semifinal, Sabalenka upset home favorite Pegula to advance to her fourth consecutive final here. After losing to Gauff in 2023, she won in 2024 (beat Pegula) and 2025 (beat Amanda Anisimova).

The Belarusian will face Rybakina in the final, which will also be the 18th time they will face each other on the WTA Tour. Rybakina trails 7-10 in the head-to-head matchups, also losing their previous two clashes.

Coco Gauff on how Elena Rybakina ended the match in her favor

Before this event, Coco Gauff had met Elena Rybakina twice, losing one and winning one. Rybakina has now won their last two meetings, in this US Open and in the semifinals of this year’s Canadian Open.

I think she played really well. I thought it was a good match and honestly, it came down to like a couple service games of mine and in both sets, and I didn’t quite hold. I have to look back and see what happens, but she does a great job of just being there every point and putting a lot of pressure on you on service game and return games. I think it was just she was able to hold the line a bit better than I could tonight.

Coco Gauff said at the press conference

Before arriving in New York, Gauff ended her title drought by breezing past Jessica Pegula in the final of the Cincinnati Open, lifting her first trophy since the 2025 Wuhan Open. It was also her third final of the season after the Italian Open (lost to Elina Svitolina) and the Miami Open (lost to Aryna Sabalenka).

Rybakina, on the other hand, has lifted a couple of titles from four finals this season. She won at the Australian Open and the Stuttgart Open by beating Sabalenka and Karolina Muchova, respectively.

In Indian Wells, Sabalenka beat her, while in Toronto, Iga Swiatek denied her the win. Rybakina has already removed Sabalenka from the top of the live rankings and will officially become the newest World No.1 player on Monday next week.

Also read: Megyn Kelly Slams Naomi Osaka’s US Open Fashion Choices: “Looks Like Someone Ran Over Her Cat”