Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff restored order at the Australian Open by easing into the quarter-finals.
While Iga Swiatek’s shock loss to Linda Noskova on Saturday means no top-10 seeds made the fourth round in the top half of the draw, Sabalenka and Gauff are on a semi-final collision course in the bottom half.
Neither has yet dropped a set and they lost only eight games between them in the fourth round, Sabalenka beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3 6-2 and Gauff racing to a 6-1 6-2 victory over Magdalena Frech.
It was a particularly impressive win and performance from defending champion Sabalenka, who had lost four of her previous five matches against Anisimova.
The 22-year-old American has been resurgent here having missed most of last season for mental health reasons but could not match the precision power of her opponent.
Anisimova reacted to the defeat by dropping her racket on the court and leaving it there as she walked off Margaret Court Arena.
“I’m super happy with the level, happy to get this win,” said Sabalenka. “She’s a tough opponent and I’m super happy to see her back on tour. I’m pretty sure she’ll be back at the top soon.
“I really want to stay here as long as I can until the very last day and, hopefully, we can get this one one more time.”
Gauff is treading new ground having made it through to the last eight at Melbourne Park for the first time.
“I’m super happy to be in this position and be here,” said the 19-year-old. “I think I had three fourth rounds. It’s cool to get over that hump. Hopefully I can keep going for more.”
Next she will take on Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, who made the last eight at a slam for the first time with a 6-2 6-1 victory over qualifier Maria Timofeeva.
Coco Gauff has set herself a target of winning at least 10 grand slam titles during her career.
The 19-year-old goes into the Australian Open as tennis’ newest major winner after lifting the trophy at the US Open last September.
Asked if she had a number in mind, Gauff said: “I would say recently I feel like I wanted to get double-digits. That’s cool.
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“I don’t know if it will happen, but I think that’s a high goal. I think setting my goals high pushes me beyond what I think I can do.”
Players often struggle in the period after a major breakthrough, but Gauff began her 2024 season by defending her title in Auckland and will be one of the favourites for success in Melbourne.
“During the off-season we did celebrate a little bit just because after the US Open everything was so fast,” said the world number four, who plays Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the first round.
“Now, going into another slam, it really feels like so long ago. Some players’ goal is to win a grand slam. Once they reach that, it’s kind of what’s next.
“For me, I always knew I wanted to win multiple. It was kind of easy to forget about it. Not ‘forget’. I think that’s the wrong word. Maybe just put it in the past and look forward to the future instead of dwelling on the past.
“I think for me the only thing I will try to remember from that slam is just the way that I won. It wasn’t my best tennis. It was more the mental fire.”
Gauff credits her success to a shift in mentality, helped by new coach Brad Gilbert, after a disappointing loss against Sofia Kenin in the opening round of Wimbledon.
“I think I put too much pressure on winning a slam,” she said. “When I went on the scene at 15, I felt like I had to win a slam as a teenager because that’s what everybody thought.
“Honestly, going into US Open, I didn’t expect it. I felt like I was having a bad season, and my focus was just get through the season and focus on the Australian Open this year.
“I think putting that mindset just relaxed me a lot. At the end of the day, the worst thing that happened to me at Wimbledon was I could lose first round. That wasn’t even that bad. Obviously it sucked. The world didn’t end. The sun still shines. I still have my friends and family.
“I realised that losing isn’t all that bad, and that I should just focus on the battle and the process and enjoy it. When it’s 5-5 in the third set, enjoy that battle instead of thinking, ‘What if I lose?’ I found myself being able to play freer and trust myself more.”
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Looking to avoid a first-round upset against former Australian Open winner Kenin this time will be top seed Iga Swiatek, who is bidding for a first title in Melbourne.
Aryna Sabalenka broke her grand slam duck here last year and went on to reach at least the semi-finals at each of the grand slams and become world number one.
The Belarusian, who will take on German teenager Ella Seidel in the first night session on Sunday, said: “I had an incredible season last year, improved a lot as a player and as a person. I did really a great pre-season. We worked a lot. I felt like we improved a lot. I feel really great and feel like I’m ready to go.”
World number two Iga Swiatek and world number three Coco Gauff have both secured their spots in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.
Poland’s Swiatek confirmed her position with a 6-1 6-2 win over world number six Ons Jabeur.
Earlier, Gauff claimed a victory for US tennis fans in a battle of two of the major champions from this year.
She defeated Marketa Vondrousova 5-7 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the final round of group play on Friday night, ending the Czech player’s chances of advancing to the semi-finals.
The win was another feather in the cap for Gauff, making her the first teenager to make the final four of the year-end championships since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.
She will now face Jessica Pegula while Swiatek takes on Aryna Sabalenka.
Coco Gauff will take on Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals of the China Open after continuing her winning streak in Beijing.
The US Open champion made it 16 victories in a row with a straightforward 6-2 6-4 success against Greek Maria Sakkari, who saw her late charge to qualify for the WTA Finals end.
Second seed Swiatek had a tougher time against Caroline Garcia but fought back from a set down to defeat the Frenchwoman 6-7 (8) 7-6 (5) 6-1.
Swiatek won her first seven matches against Gauff without dropping a set but the American turned the tables in the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati in August prior to lifting her maiden grand slam title.
“Everybody who plays her, no matter the game style, you have to be prepared to run and just be ready for everything,” said Gauff.
“She’s in the position she is for a reason, she’s one of the best players in the world for a reason, and I’m just going to go out there and hopefully do a similar result to Cincinnati. If not, I’m really proud of the way that I’ve been doing to get to the semi-finals so far.”
Swiatek was twice within two points of defeat against Garcia, and she said: “For sure it was really intense. We played really fast. There was no time sometimes to think or analyse. I’m happy I used my intuition a lot.
“In both of these first sets, every ball counted. I’m happy that in the third I could just go for it.”
Coco Gauff extended her winning run to a season-leading 15 matches with victory over Veronika Kudermetova at the China Open.
The US Open champion is bidding for a third successive title and saved four set points in the opener against last week’s Tokyo champion Kudermetova before clinching a 7-6 (5) 6-2 win in Beijing.
Gauff will next face sixth seed Maria Sakkari, who battled to a 6-4 2-6 6-3 victory over home hope Wang Xinyu.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka is also through to the quarter-finals after seeing off unseeded Italian Jasmine Paolini 6-4 7-6 (4).
That set up an Australian Open final rematch against fifth seed Elena Rybakina, who defeated 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday.
Sabalenka won one of the matches of the season in Melbourne but lost to her rival in the Indian Wells final.
“I know that I’ll have some chances to win this match,” said the top seed. “In the last match I lost, I got nervous a little bit and I rushed a little bit more. The key against Elena is just to stay calm, stay aggressive, and not over-rush things.”
Ninth seed Caroline Garcia is also through to the last eight after defeating Anna Kalinina 6-3 6-2.
Coco Gauff says Serena and Venus Williams are the reason she has won the US Open.
American teenager Gauff picked up her first grand slam title at her home major, coming from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2.
Gauff’s father Corey used to take his young daughter to Flushing Meadows to watch the Williams sisters in action.
And the gilded duo, with eight US Open titles between them, inspired an eight-year-old Gauff, filmed dancing in the stands inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, to follow in their footsteps.
“It’s crazy. I mean, they’re the reason why I have this trophy, to be honest,” said Gauff.
“They have allowed me to believe in this dream, you know, growing up. You know, there wasn’t too many black tennis players dominating the sport.
“It was literally, at that time when I was younger, it was just them that I can remember.
“Obviously more came because of their legacy. So it made the dream more believable. But all the things that they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this.
“I mean, you look back at the history with Indian Wells with Serena (when she was booed in 2001), all she had to go through, Venus fighting for equal pay.
“Yeah, it’s just, like, it’s crazy and it’s an honour to be in that same kind of line-up as them.”
Gauff’s day of destiny saw her became the first American teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.
The latter’s final farewell to tennis at the same championships last year left a colossal void in tennis in the US.
So it felt entirely appropriate that Gauff, the heir apparent to the 23-time grand slam winner, stepped into her shoes 12 months later.
Gauff used her acceptance speech to thank “the people who didn’t believe in me”.
The 19-year-old was at a low ebb after losing in the first round at Wimbledon, but she has since won 18 of her past 19 matches and picked up three titles, including the big one in the Big Apple.
“I would say for sure a little bit after the Wimbledon loss, honestly I just felt people were like, ‘oh, she’s hit her peak and she’s done’. It was all hype,” she added.
“I see the comments. People don’t think I see it but I see it. I’m very aware of tennis Twitter.
“Honestly after that, I was like, OK, I have a lot of work to do. So I think this means a lot to me. I wish I could give this trophy to my past self so she can be, like, all those tears are for this moment.”
Coco Gauff became the first American teenager since Serena Williams to reach a US Open final and the timing of her home breakthrough could not have been scripted better.
Williams’ diamond-encrusted and star-studded departure from tennis at Flushing Meadows last year showcased the impact she has had on the sport over 25 years.
But it also left a big hole, particular for tennis in the US, where a dearth of male success over the same period has seen its profile wane.
Now 12 months later, here is Gauff, taking over the baton in seamless fashion and poised to become one of the world’s biggest sporting stars.
The Williams family has played a huge role in the story of Gauff’s first 19 years. She grew up idolising the sisters, while her first pay check came from playing a young Serena in an advert.
Speaking about Serena’s influence on her in New York last year, Gauff said: “Growing up, I never thought that I was different because the number one player in the world was somebody who looked like me.
“I love that she always elevates herself. Sometimes being a woman, a black woman in the world, you kind of settle for less. I can’t remember a moment in her career or life that she settled for less.”
It was Venus rather than Serena, though, who was central to Gauff bursting through on the global stage, aged only 15.
A childhood prodigy who won the US national under-12 title aged 10 and a grand slam junior crown at only 14, she qualified for the women’s singles at Wimbledon in 2019 and defeated Venus in the first round.
Wowing with her serve, backhand, athleticism and a maturity way beyond her years, Gauff rode a wave of support through to the fourth round.
The talk was already of when the teenager would win a grand slam and she has had to handle huge expectations from that moment on, but – while she will not turn 20 until next March – the last four years have seen her gain an excellent grounding in the game.
Gauff has overcome moments of doubt, including a first-round loss at Wimbledon this summer, to maintain a steadily-upward trajectory, reaching her first senior grand slam final at the French Open last summer.
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What makes Gauff, who has already been ranked world number one in doubles, such a huge asset for tennis is not just her performances and potential on court but the person she is away from it.
A big fan of TikTok and superheroes, Gauff is very much a 21st century American teenager, yet she also uses her platform to advocate for causes she believes in, speaking at a Black Lives Matter rally in her home town of Delray Beach when she was only 16.
She is a superb talker on a range of subjects, saying earlier this week about handling the spotlight: “At first I used to think negative things, like, ‘Why is there so much pressure, why is this so hard’?
“I realise in a way it’s pressure but it’s not. There are people struggling to feed their families, people who don’t know where their next meal is going to come from, people who have to pay their bills.
“That’s real pressure, that’s real hardship, that’s real life. I’m getting paid to do what I love and getting support to do what I love. That’s something that I don’t take for granted.”
Born in Atlanta to parents Candi and Corey – Gauff’s given name is Cori but she is universally known as Coco – who were talented in athletics and basketball, respectively, the family moved to back to Candi and Corey’s home town of Delray Beach in Florida when their daughter was seven to enhance her training opportunities.
Gauff’s parents subsequently gave up their careers to coach her, although they have been happy to bring in outside help, with Gauff attending the academy of Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou and currently working with the hugely-experienced Brad Gilbert.
There are areas of her game that Gauff can improve, notably a forehand that opponents now routinely target, but there have been no real mis-steps so far on the road to superstardom.
The US Open semi-final between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova was held up after a protest in the stands.
Three people, wearing T-shirts bearing the words ‘fossil fuels’ began shouting after the first game of the second set, forcing play to be stopped.
American teenager Gauff and Czech 10th seed Muchova initially stayed on the court for about 10 minutes while security tried to deal with the situation.
The Arthur Ashe crowd at one point began chanting “kick them out” with the protesters apparently being difficult to shift.
“Are they like talking to them or are they going to remove them?” Gauff asked chair umpire Alison Hughes and tournament referee Jake Garner.
She then spoke to her coach, Brad Gilbert, saying “they say they are negotiating, like it’s a hostage situation. What should I do?”
Both players eventually left the court with Gauff leading 6-4 1-0.
Coco Gauff became the first American teenager since Serena Williams in 2001 to reach the semi-finals of the US Open.
The 19-year-old dropped just two games as she blitzed Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-2 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Latvian Ostapenko, the 20th seed, had blown the women’s draw wide open when she knocked out defending champion and world number one Iga Swiatek in round four.
But she was unable to take advantage of her own handiwork as Gauff raced away with the first set in only 20 minutes.
Ostapenko made more of a contest of it in the second set, finally managing to hold serve at the fifth attempt.
But Gauff completed the job in an hour and eight minutes to reach the last four of her home grand slam for the first time.
“It feels great, I’m so happy,” she said. “Last year I lost in the quarter-finals and I wanted to do better. There’s a long way to go but I’m happy and ready to go back to work.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable the whole match, even on match point. I know the game she plays. It’s really tough against her – you can’t really be aggressive. She’s a top player and she’s had a great tournament.
“There’s a saying in basketball that ‘defence wins games’. It doesn’t always work in tennis but today that was the case.”
Gauff will face the winner of Tuesday night’s match between Sorana Cirstea and Karolina Muchova in the last four.
Teenager Coco Gauff ended the grand-slam comeback of mother-of-two Caroline Wozniacki to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open.
The 19-year-old came from a break down in the first and third sets to win both and complete a 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory.
Wozniacki’s return has been one of the stories of New York this year, having come out of retirement after more than three years and two children later.
The 33-year-old former world number one has looked as though she has never been away, but a fired-up Gauff proved just too strong in the deciding set.
Wozniacki got off to a dream start with a break in the first game and a 2-0 lead.
But Gauff quickly got back on the board, levelling at 3-3 before going on to clinch the first set without dropping another game.
Wozniacki cranked up the pressure in the second and Gauff started feeling it as her suspect forehand began to misfire and she was broken for 5-3 as the Dane levelled the match.
Gauff looked uncomfortable as she dropped serve again at the start of the decider, but after pointedly ignoring the advice of coach Brad Gilbert, the wound-up American began firing backhand winners as if they were going out of fashion.
She reeled off the next six games to clinch the victory and let out a loud scream of triumph after converting match point.
“Definitely getting it to 2-1 (in the third set) was the turning point,” said Gauff.
“I got broke and I showed I was still in the match. I started to go for my shots.
“Caroline, it’s like she’s never left, the level she played was amazing. It’s weird because I grew up watching Caroline and when she won the Australian Open, so to be on court with her today was an honour.
“She definitely gets to a lot of balls. I felt a bit like I was playing myself. I knew I had to play aggressive and go for my shots. In some moments I miss but I was happy I could get back and refocus.”
It will be the fifth grand slam quarter-final of Gauff’s still-fledgling career and her second at Flushing Meadows.
“I’ve been in this position before,” she added. “And I think I have confidence in myself that I can go even further.”
The original teenage star beat the new kid on the block as Coco Gauff knocked 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva out of the US Open.
Gauff, who burst onto the scene when she beat Venus Williams on her way to the fourth round at Wimbledon aged 15, ousted the Russian rookie 6-3 6-2.
The sixth seed, still only 19, had to come from behind to beat Laura Siegemund in a drama-filled three-setter on Monday, but she had a far more gentle work-out this time on Arthur Ashe.
Gauff is fast becoming a live contender for the title this year having won 13 of her 14 matches since losing in the Wimbledon first round to fellow American Sofia Kenin.
She lost a first-set tie-break against Andreeva at this year’s French Open but came back to win in three.
Gauff said: “I just learned then to be aggressive, because if you give her something she is going to take advantage.
“She has a great future in front of her – I think she is going to be back on this stage many more times.”
There was another home success in New York when Taylor Townsend beat Brazilian 19th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6 (1) 7-5.
Coco Gauff battled from a set down under the lights as the US Open served up a thriller on opening night.
American hope Gauff, the sixth seed, was left frazzled by qualifier Laura Siegemund’s incredible anticipation and volleying in the first set.
But the match swung after an epic 26-minute first game of the second set, a minute longer than Iga Swiatek had taken to win her first set against Rebecca Peterson.
In front of the watching former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, Gauff went toe-to-toe with the German at the net and finally converted a break point at the eighth attempt.
The pair slugged it out with some stunning rallies, firing volley after volley at each other in a match more akin to doubles than singles.
A niggly encounter boiled over when Gauff, tiring of the type of delaying tactics from Siegemund which would have had Premier League referees’ chief Howard Webb in a lather, raged at chair umpire Marijana Veljovic.
The youngster could barely contain her delight when Veljovic deducted Siegemund a point for not being ready to receive, giving Gauff a 5-1 lead in the decider.
“Slow!” was Gauff’s verdict on the match after closing out a 3-6 6-2 6-4 victory in two hours and 51 minutes.
“I mean it was a tough match,” she added. “I wasn’t playing my best tennis and Laura fights to the end. I managed to overcome some adversity so I’m happy to get through.”
Gauff will play another teenager, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva, in round two.
World number one Swiatek had earlier helped herself to a New York bagel to get her title defence off to the perfect start.
The 22-year-old from Poland dropped just eight points as she took the first set to love against Rebecca Peterson.
Sweden’s Peterson did get on the board early in the second but Swiatek, bidding for a fifth grand-slam title, completed a comprehensive 6-0 6-1 victory in just 58 minutes.
“I really wanted to play solid and start the tournament with everything I practised on,” she said.
“I’m happy to play such a great game and despite all the pressure and expectation I can still have fun on the court.”
There was an upset on day one at Flushing Meadows with eighth seed Maria Sakkari from Greece bowing out 6-4 6-4 to Spanish world number 71 Rebeka Masarova.
Fourth seed Elena Rybakina, last year’s Wimbledon champion, had no such trouble, dispatching Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-1.
Victoria Azarenka, a three-time finalist, beat Fiona Ferro 6-1 6-2 and Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova sank Storm Hunter of Australia 6-4 6-0.
Madison Keys shrugged off an injury scare to progress to her second Eastbourne final by upsetting fellow American Coco Gauff with a straight-sets win at the Rothesay International.
The 2014 champion, who suffered a nasty slip in the middle of the second set, triumphed 6-3 6-3 against the world number seven at a blustery Devonshire Park.
Former USA Open runner-up Keys had earlier on Friday been drawn to face British wildcard Sonay Kartal in the first round of Wimbledon.
“I’ve had a little bit of a not great year so far, so being able to make a final here where I won my first title is amazing,” the 28-year-old world number 25 said in her on-court interview.
“It’s definitely 10 times more difficult when you have to play Coco and then you throw in hurricane winds on top of it.
“I’m very happy that I was able to have a not incredibly complicated match and get the win. I’m really looking forward to the final tomorrow.”
Gauff, who defeated doubles partner Jessica Pegula to reach the semi-final, looked poised to stage a comeback.
However, after breaking serve in the first game of the second set, the 19-year-old blew a 40-0 lead and then hit a remarkable three double faults in a row at advantage to allow her opponent to level at 2-2.
Unseeded Keys was left holding her hip following a painful fall in the next game but recovered sufficiently to progress in an hour and 21 minutes.
World number seven Coco Gauff cruised into the last eight of the Rothesay International at Eastbourne with a comfortable 6-1 6-1 victory over Britain’s Jodie Burrage.
The American took just 59 minutes to complete the win with the only highlight for Burrage, who has a Wimbledon wildcard, being a break of serve to make it 5-1 in the second set.
Gauff will now face compatriot and doubles partner Jessica Pegula, who beat Colombian qualifier Camila Osorio 6-2 1-6 6-3, in a meeting of the top two Americans on tour.
The American is enjoying the relative peace of Eastbourne ahead of Wimbledon next week.
“Being in a town like Eastbourne where you can walk reminds me of home. It’s peaceful and I need that before getting into a Grand Slam,” she told BBC2.
Britain’s representation in the women’s singles ended with Harriet Dart’s exit to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, losing 6-3 6-4, while Russian ninth seed Daria Kasatkina beat 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova in three sets.
Defending men’s champion and top seed Taylor Fritz was knocked out by fellow Californian Mackenzie McDonald, who recovered from a break down in each set to win 7-6 (3) 7-6 (8) against the world number nine.
“It’s a big win for me. Taylor’s a close friend and it’s always tough playing your friends. It was a battle out there,” McDonald said in his on-court interview.
The American will face Swede Mikael Ymer in the quarter-finals after he defeated home favourite Liam Broady 6-2 6-4.
Eighth seed Miomir Kecmanovic struggled past qualifier qualifier Aleksandar Vukic for a 7-6 (6) 6-4 win and will face Frenchman Gregoire Barrere after he upset fifth seed Nicolas Jarry in three sets.
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