Screams erupted from the bleachers, where 19 year old Coco Gauff’s mother was sitting. 

Gauff just earned three million dollars after winning the 2023 U.S open. Gauff is the youngest American to win since Serena Williams. 

The U.S open is the last Grand Slam tennis event of the year. In tennis the highest prizes are the four Grand Slam tournaments, with each giving 2,000 points of rank to winners. 

The four tournaments are, the Australian open, French open, Wimbledon open and lastly the U.S open. The U.S open is two weeks long from Aug. to Sept. The event takes place in New York. 

The U.S open is one of the oldest tennis championships, at first the tournament was held in Newport, RI but after a petition from players, it was moved to New York City in 1915.

Gauff’s road to success arguably started at age 15, when she beat Venus Williams. She became the youngest woman to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon since 15 year old Jennifer Capriati in 1991.  Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, the tournament is regarded as extremely prestigious.

Gauff reached the French open around three years later, in 2022. She faced Iga Swiatek, Polish tennis player. Swiatek is a four-time major singles champion, she has also been ranked No.1 in women’s singles by the Women’s Tennis Association. 

Her victory, Saturday, was against Aryna Sabalenkae. Sabalenkae is a Belarusian tennis player who ranked No.1 in women’s singles and also doubles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). She won with a  2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. 

“Oh my goodness, it means so much to me,” Gauff said in an interview after winning the U.S open.

 Gauff thought of her name next to the Williams sisters as an honor. 

“I mean, they’re the reason why I have this trophy today, to be honest,” Gauff said. “They have allowed me to believe in this dream. Growing up, there weren’t too many Black tennis players dominating the sport. It was literally, at that time when I was younger, it was just them that I can remember,” she said in an interview.   

A video of eight year old Gauff in the 2012 U.S open went viral after her win, showcasing the contrast of young Gauff dancing and celebrating in the bleachers to winning in the same court, 11 years later. 

Former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama congratulated Gauff over twitter.