Fifteen-year-old phenom Coco Gauff secured a spot in qualifying for the Citi Open on Friday and will make her first post-Wimbledon tournament appearance at the Washington event.
“I’m playing tomorrow, so I’m pretty excited,” Gauff said at a news conference Friday.
Her first match is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.
Gauff became the youngest player to qualify for Wimbledon and made a spectacular run to the fourth round, defeating five-time champion Venus Williams along the way.
She also had a second-round win over Magdalena Rybarikova and an improbable third-round comeback victory over Polona Hercog before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep in straight sets.
Gauff turned pro in 2018 and made her WTA debut at the Miami Open in March of this year, winning her first match before losing in the second round. She signed endorsement deals with New Balance and Barilla. She lost in the second round of qualifying at Roland Garros but was dominant during Wimbledon qualifying. She won three matches to line up her opening-round main draw clash with Williams.
“I’ve said this before: I want to be the greatest,” Gauff told ESPN after ending her run. “I’m still not 100 percent confident. But you have to just say things. You never know what happens. If I went into [the Venus] match saying, ‘Let’s see how many games I can get against her,’ then I most definitely would not have won.
“My goal was to play my best. My dream was to win. That’s what happened.”
Gauff did not earn direct entry into the main draw or the qualifying draw because of her No. 313 ranking before Wimbledon. To get into the main draw, she will have to win matches Saturday and Sunday.
The Citi Open will be Saturday through Aug. 4 at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Play in the main draw begins Monday.