KEY POINTS

  • Coco Gauff failed to make it to the Italian Open final
  • Gauff has joined Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams in a special Italian Open feat
  • The 17-year-old is focused on improving rather than collecting trophies

Despite not making it to the final, Coco Gauff is still one of the most notable players in this year’s Italian Open.

Gauff’s thrilling run at the Italian Open has officially ended after suffering a semi-final loss to 15th-seeded Iga Swiatek Saturday. Despite playing twice on the same day, Swiatek still managed to beat both Gauff and two-time Rome champion Elina Svitolina.

Swiatek is now set for a final clash against 2019 Italian Open champion Karolina Pliskova. Gauff, though already eliminated, also put her name in the record books during the tournament.

At exactly 17 years and 61 days old, Gauff joined tennis legends Maria Sharapova, Steffi Graf and Venus Williams as one of the youngest players to reach the semifinals of the Italian Open, Rohan Kollare of Essentially Sports reported.

The American, however, trails behind Martina Hingis (15 years and 218 days) and Monica Seles (16 years and 156 days).

Gauff, 17, is widely regarded as a future superstar of the sport, having been hailed as the youngest player to reach the Wimbledon main draw at the mere age of 15.

While the teenage phenom has yet to claim a single Grand Slam title, she's earned quite the reputation through her upset victories over some of the biggest names on the women’s Tour.

Coco Gauff went out to Britain's Katie Boulter in three sets
Coco Gauff went out to Britain's Katie Boulter in three sets AFP / William WEST

So far, Gauff’s most notable accomplishments have been a sensational win over five-time champion Williams at Wimbledon and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in Melbourne.

Earlier this year, Gauff reached a career-high of No. 35 in the WTA Rankings. The said feat was impressive given her age and experience. However, the Atlanta native seemed unbothered by the recognitions and is only focused on improving.

According to Gauff, there are still a lot of areas in her game that need to be developed and she is still in the “learning process.”

“I think you want results to happen fast, but I’m also still developing my game and figuring out how I want to play on the court and how I want to construct my points,” the women’s tennis prodigy told Reuters last month.

“So it’s just definitely a learning process and I feel like with every tournament, even though some tournaments I don’t do as well as others, I feel like with each one I’m getting better and getting closer to figuring out my game and figuring out what I like to do,” she added.

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