Coco Gauff has been one of the biggest names on the WTA Tour since she made her breakthrough at 15 years old.
Gauff was already starting to make some noise in 2019, but really took the world by storm when she played in her first Grand Slam main draw at Wimbledon.
After coming through qualifying, Gauff beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon in her first round match.
Although Gauff is now a two-time Grand Slam champion, she did not fulfil a prediction that John McEnroe had for her.
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty ImagesWhat John McEnroe predicted would happen to Coco Gauff at Wimbledon in 2019
Gauff beat five-time Wimbledon champion Williams, 6-4 6-4, on the No.1 Court in her debut Grand Slam match.
This victory provoked a huge reaction from across the world, with even McEnroe impressed by the teenager.
When speaking to the BBC at the time, McEnroe was full of praise for Gauff and backed her to become world number one as a teenager.
“Gauff’s not only physically mature, but also mentally,” said McEnroe. “I look at the way she plays. If she’s not number one in world by 20 I will be absolutely shocked.”
Only five teenagers in history had managed to reach the summit of the WTA rankings before, with Martina Hingis the youngest at 16 years and 182 days.
Another of those teenage number ones is Tracy Austin, who also hyped up Gauff’s future at the time.
“People have been talking about Coco for years,” said Austin. “They have now started to recognise her internationally.
“Obviously she’s a tremendous athlete, but to walk on court to face Venus, a player who she idolises, there were plenty of opportunities for her to get tight and nervous. She has been raised for greatness and this is beginning.”
Gauff would go on to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon that year, but McEnroe’s prediction about her never came true.
The American would reach a career-high as a teenager of world number three, which Gauff achieved after winning the 2023 US Open.
Gauff, who is now 21 years old, has since bettered this, but is still yet to lead the WTA rankings.
Could Coco Gauff become world number one this year?
Gauff is currently the world number two, with Aryna Sabalenka leading the WTA rankings on a colossal 12,420 points.
Sabalenka leads Gauff by 4,751 in the rankings, but there are still some big tournaments coming up this year.
This includes the final Grand Slam of 2025, where Sabalenka is the defending US Open champion and has 2,000 ranking points to protect.
Although Gauff did not perform so well at the US Open last year, she still has a significant number of ranking points to defend from her title victories at the WTA Finals and the China Open.
While Gauff is currently the person closest to catching Sabalenka, another WTA player has actually been backed to finish the year as world number one.
Based off previous comments, this is not likely to affect Gauff, who claimed she would rather win majors than become world number one.