“Rivalry is where you hate the person,” Coco Gauff speaks on developing a rivalry with Emma Raducanu in the future

Coco Gauff reveals the rivalry with her contemporary, Emma Raducanu

“Rivalry is where you hate the person,” Coco Gauff speaks on developing a rivalry with Emma Raducanu in the future

Coco and Emma

Last month at the Australian Open, American teenage star, Coco Gauff emerged victorious against her fellow teen star, Emma Raducanu in the second round. The 18-year-old won the match in straight sets at the Rod Laver Arena, marking the beginning of what many predict will be a lifelong rivalry between the two talented players.

Despite her dip in form since the U.S. Open title, Raducanu still holds the edge over Gauff as the American just won three titles and none of them is a Grand Slam title. Gauff’s campaign at Melbourne ended on a disappointing note with a straight-set loss to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round. On the other hand, Raducanu has been grappling with injury setbacks.

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In her column for BBC Sport, the American finally opened up about her thoughts on the rivalry and also shared her sentiments about Raducanu. She said, “I don’t know if Emma and I will develop a rivalry or not for years to come. I guess that is what other people might expect – but any time there are two players aged 18 and 20 playing you would imagine they are going to play each other a lot in the future.”

She further continued and said, “In my head, I still think a rivalry is where you hate the person and I definitely don’t hate Emma – I really like her! So who could I potentially develop a great rivalry with over the next 10 or 15 years? I don’t know for sure, there are a lot of players who you could point to. Emma is definitely one – I think we showed that in our match.”

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Coco Gauff has a mixed 2023 season so far

Coco Gauff

The American star, Coco Gauff has had a decent season so far in both singles and doubles. She started the season on a high by winning the ASB classic. But she couldn’t keep her form going in the Australian Open as she lost in the fourth round in singles. However, pairing up with Jessica Pegula in the doubles, she reached the semis of the Major.

Following an average outing at the Grand Slam tournament, Gauff played the Qatar Open and won the doubles title with Pegula. But she couldn’t replicate the same result in her singles as she lost to Veronika Kudermetova in the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, she made a good comeback to reach the semis of the Dubai Tennis Championship before losing to Iga Swiatek.

Coco Gauff is the fourth American female player to reach 10 WTA semi-finals before turning 19 over the last 30 years, after Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams. She is also the first player to feature in two different semifinals in WTA-1000 events before turning 19.