Maria Sharapova shared a glowing assessment of Coco Gauff during a visit to Wimbledon.
20 years on from winning the grass court Grand Slam as a 17-year-old, the Russian was a guest at the tournament and sat in the Royal Box on Wednesday.
She retired from tennis in 2022 with five Grand Slam titles to her name, but perhaps none bigger than her shock Wimbledon triumph.
Like Sharapova, Gauff was also a teenager when her first Grand Slam, though the scene of the World number two’s first success at a major came at the US Open.
What did Maria Sharapova say about Coco Gauff?
During her visit to the All England Club Sharapova took some time out to speak with Tennis Channel.
The former World number one was asked which of the current crop of players she enjoys watching, and she shared some kind words about the America’s top ranked player.
“I was waiting for Coco to get up there. I remember attending the first round at the US Open which was a tough match,” said Sharapova.
“I went back home and then I was contemplating coming back, I just wanted to witness her win because I think she has such an amazing game and head on her shoulders.
“I think she has a voice and a platform that’s going to transcend the sport. As we know now sport is not just tennis it’s fashion it’s art, it’s culture it’s it’s having a platform and I think she does brilliantly of merging all of those together.”
Coco Gauff continues quest for first Wimbledon title
Gauff maintained the dominant start to her Wimbledon 2024 campaign by beating qualifier Anca Todoni 6-2, 6-1.
The 20-year-old won 85% of her first serve points and hit some clean and powerful groundstrokes, especially off the backhand side.
The Romanian had no answer for Gauff’s artillery and she has reached the third round where she will play Britain’s Sonay Kartal.
She said post-match: “I’m happy with how I played. I do think I could’ve played cleaner at some moments, but overall, I’m happy to get through to the third round.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
