Tim Henman names who he thinks is the ‘best athlete’ on the WTA Tour

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The stars of women’s tennis often impress fans with their athletic ability.

Over the years, big serves and groundstrokes have often propelled players to success on the WTA Tour.

That’s still the case today, as world number one Aryna Sabalenka is one of the biggest hitters we’ve ever seen.

The best athletes have also found success, chasing down balls some of their rivals would have no chance of reaching.

One former ATP star has now given his verdict on which player in the women’s game is the best athlete of them all.

Tim Henman says Coco Gauff is the ‘best athlete in the women’s game’

Speaking on Sky Sports ahead of this year’s Italian Open final, former world number four Tim Henman shared his thoughts on Coco Gauff.

“I think she’s young enough and I think her athletic ability and general fitness is one of her huge assets,” he said.

“For me, she’s the best athlete in the women’s game.”

Henman suggested Gauff would need to be at her athletic best to beat Jasmine Paolini in the Italian Open final.

“She’s going to need that, she’s going to need that resilience on the court, because she knows she’s going to be the enemy if you like,” he said.

“Paolini is going to have massive Italian support, but I think the way that Gauff has been able to come through some difficult moments, for me, she goes in as the slight favorite.”

Another former British star, Laura Robson, weighed in on both Gauff and Paolini’s athleticism.

“Great movers, both of them are really good athletes out there, especially on the clay,” she said.

“They’re both so balanced when they’re moving side to side, and they kind of have different strengths in a way. Coco maybe plays a slightly bigger game, she’s got a faster first serve.

“When she’s got time on the forehand, then she can unleash on that, but I think it’s [Jasmine] Paolini’s counter, defensive skills that keep her in the rally that make her so difficult to get a passing shot against, so it’s going to be really interesting I think.

“Coco leads the head-to-head, 2-1, Paolini did win their last match which was on indoor clay just a few weeks ago, so I’m sure she’ll take a lot of confidence from that, and from the crowd as well.”

Paolini beat Gauff, 6-4, 6-3, at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix last month, securing her first career victory over the American.

She’ll no doubt hope to repeat the feat on Saturday, as she bids to become the first Italian in 40 years to win the singles title in Rome.

Coco Gauff’s record in WTA finals

Gauff will compete in her 12th career final when she takes on Paolini for the title in Rome and will look to bounce back from a tough result last time out.

Battling it out for the Madrid Open title, Gauff lost to Sabalenka in straight sets, as her run of seven consecutive final victories came to an end.

Gauff’s one previous final defeat came at the hands of Iga Swiatek at the French Open three years ago.

Perhaps Gauff will take some confidence from her two defeats, both of which came against players ranked number one in the world.

On paper, Paolini, the WTA Tour’s fifth-ranked player, shouldn’t cause her the same problems, although as we all know, tennis isn’t played on paper.

It remains to be seen who will come away with the Italian Open trophy, but it’ll certainly be worth tuning in for when Gauff takes on Paolini on Saturday, May 17.