Coco Gauff embraces Centre Court spotlight to reach Wimbledon third round

American teenager defeated Elena Vesnina in convincing fashion

Only once Coco Gauff had soaked in a standing ovation and the adrenaline began to subside did her eyes widen ever so slightly and reveal that the 17-year-old does, if just briefly, marvel at her feats with the same wonder as those who roared her name on Centre Court. An emphatic straight sets victory against Elena Vesnina was just the latest step in the American teenager’s rapid ascent towards the pinnacle of sport, but this was further proof that the prophecies of Gauff being tennis’s future are fast becoming its present.

Sport’s rising stars often have a tendency to fizzle out. No sooner has a blossoming reputation been cultivated does it begin to wilt under the burden of expectation: lofty predictions set unattainable targets, success is portrayed as stasis and the spotlight fades into a false dawn. It is the relentless gauntlet run by every breakout prodigy and one for which they can never truly be prepared.

When Gauff became the youngest player to qualify for Wimbledon in 2019 and defeated her idol, Venus Williams, in the first round, the 15-year-old did not take a natural step but a quantum leap into the public’s conscience. Not just a teenage virtuoso, instead, as champions vie for a piece of Serena Williams’s crown, she was hailed as a supernova that could charge the sport’s future.

For the most part, the teenager, who remains the youngest player in either singles draw at Wimbledon, has handled the pressure with a grace and conviction that has validated that promise. Returning to Centre Court for the first time since her defeat by eventual champion Simona Halep, there were no hints of hesitation or stage fright. In fact, in those moments of heightened pressure, when her opponent, Vesnina, twice forced deuce in the first set, Gauff produced displays of exquisite serving to ward off any danger. There were no extravagances, no energy wasted on entertaining theatre, just a mature equilibrium between power and precision. For that, Vesnina, who reached the semi-finals in 2016, simply had no answer.

The best players in tennis are able to harness momentum as a weapon. The minute the tide turns in their favour, as soon as any flickering weakness is revealed in their opponent, they find a way to raise their level. It is a skill that usually takes years to develop and requires a confidence that cannot be taught. But when Vesnina double-faulted at 4-4 in the first set, Gauff pounced with an almost preternatural poise. A series of bludgeoning groundstrokes forced errors and a stunning crouched backhand fizzed against the tramline. And as Vesnina’s shoulders dropped, her fading spirit betrayed by her posture, Gauff surged into an insurmountable lead.

By the time Vesnina called for her trainer early in the second set, her serve had already been broken twice. The delay did briefly throw Gauff off her relentless march towards victory, with her serve broken after a pair of uncharacteristic mistakes, but that jeopardy was extinguished in an instant and her place in the third round was sealed with aplomb.

For much of Gauff’s junior career, she had to be held back. As a prolific junior, her tournament appearances were restricted in order to lessen her celebrity. Her father, Corey, later had to lobby the WTA to ease their laws on the number of senior tournaments a player of Gauff’s age was allowed to play. There are few precedents for a force of nature. Now, Gauff is growing into her potential without inhibitions and, most concerningly for her competitors, will inevitably improve with age and experience. But what’s already clear is that, having come of age on these courts two years ago, Gauff is now a genuine contender and the world she’s long been forecast to conquer is slowly coming into her grasp.