The incredible statement Mary Joe Fernandez made about Coco Gauff when she was just 13-years-old

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Coco Gauff has enjoyed a strong start to her 2025 season adding a new title to her ever-growing collection.

The 20-year-old is arguably one of the biggest names on the WTA Tour already and continues to impress at the highest level.

Gauff lost to Paula Badosa in the Australian Open quarter-finals but had already picked up a trophy in Australia, earlier in the month.

As a member of Team USA, Gauff won the United Cup in January, going undefeated at the event on her debut.

Gauff will now head to Doha for the Qatar Open, as she looks to win a third career WTA 1000 title.

Despite being the youngest player in the WTA top ten, Gauff has won more big titles than most, proving her talents on a weekly basis.

Her talent was highly regarded from a young age, with one WTA legend predicting big things for the world number three, back when she was in her early teenage years.

Mary Joe Fernandez said ‘special’ Coco Gauff ‘can play’ when she was just 13 years old

During a press conference following the 2017 US Open, Mary Joe Fernandez was asked about some of the young Americans on the WTA Tour.

“Yeah, it was so much fun for me to watch them,” she said.

“I feel like they’re my girls, you know, my family, I spent about nine years with them.

“I had Sloane [Stephens] as a junior on one of my first Fed Cups in the Czech Republic, and then I had Maddie [Keys] right away when she was coming up.”

Fernandez, who worked as the USA’s Federation Cup captain between 2008, and 2016, mentioned another name that she thought had real potential.

“I had Coco [Gauff] in my very first one in Arizona as a junior,” she said.

“So to watch them grow up and mature and develop, to put it all together, knowing, you know, all the ability that they possess, was pretty special.

“I think it just bodes really well for the future.

“I don’t know if you watched the junior final, but we have some really good Americans coming up, too.”

18-time Major champion Martina Navratilova then picked an American star she thought had potential, before engaging in an interesting exchange with Fernandez.

“[Amanda] Anisimova, she can play,” she said.

“So can Cori Gauff, she’s 13 years old,” said Fernandez.

“13?” questioned Navratilova.

“13, I think it’s looking good,” replied Fernandez.

“For me it was thrilling, it was really, really exciting.”

How has Coco Gauff compared to other American WTA stars since 2017?

Fernandez and Navratilova mentioned several American youngsters back in 2017, but how do they all compare eight years on?

Gauff, Keys, and Stephens have all won Major titles, but the statistics certainly look to place the 2023 US Open champion above the rest.

The 20-year-old is just one WTA title away from matching Keys, who recently won the biggest title of her career at the Australian Open.

In her 46th Major tournament, Keys beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka to lift the trophy on Rod Laver Arena.

Did Amanda Anisimova ever reach the potential Martina Navratilova once thought she had?

Back in 2017, Navratilova was full of praise for America’s Amanda Anisimova, suggesting that ‘she can play’.

She fell in the first round of qualifying at the US Open that year, but showed real promise, that had many predicting big things for her in the future.

Just two years later, Anisimova found herself in the semi-finals of a Major tournament, as she reached the last four of the 2019 French Open.

The American knocked out Sabalenka, and defending champion Simona Halep on her way to the semis, where she fell in three sets to Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.

She wasn’t quite able to build on that form, as Anisimova reached the quarter-finals of a Major tournament just once more, at Wimbledon in 2022, before taking a break from the sport in 2023.

The now 23-year-old cited burnout and concerns for her mental health as reasons for the break, as she missed the majority of the 2023 season.

Her return was a successful one, however, as Anisimova reached the Toronto final in 2024, losing out to fellow American Jessica Pegula in three sets.

It was her first WTA 1000 final appearance, and a huge result for Anisimova, as she returned to the world’s top 50 with the result.

Anisimova lost to Emma Raducanu in the second round of the 2025 Australian Open but is currently ranked 40th in the world, as she continues to regain her footing on the WTA Tour.

Along with her fellow Americans, Anisimova will return to tennis for the Qatar Open, which begins on February 10.