When you make a pro-level tennis debut at 15 years of age, it's not easy to find people close to you in age in the locker room. That's what Coco Gauff went through in 2019.

She burst into the sport, dominated by players in their 20s and 30s. Now, at 21, she's a two-time major title winner. Gauff has opened up about her journey in navigating the space between friendships and loneliness.

“I felt like the last couple of years or maybe last two years on tour have been some of my happiest, even though maybe the tennis has been up and down,” Gauff said. “Just because you see more friendly faces in the locker room that you can actually be with.”

The WTA number 3 is the youngest player in the Top 5 as of January 2026. However, she's not that alone this time. Fourteen women under 22 are now ranked in the Top 100, including Mirra Andreeva, Iva Jovic, and Victoria Mboko, players whom Gauff considers contemporaries rather than juniors.

But the landscape around her wasn't always like this. “Some players [were] just… I wouldn't say mean, but it was stand-offish,” she recalled. “It was a different world than I was used to in juniors… There weren't many people around who were my age. It was very lonely for me, honestly.”

Fortunately, the rise of the 'Next-Gen' wave in tennis has changed things up. This is also true on the men's side. The ATP world numbers 1 and 2 are both under 25 years of age. But given Gauff's career, most people think she's past that group.

“The way people ask those questions make it seem like I'm way older than them,” she laughed. “I'm like, ‘You guys, these are my peers. We are the same.”

The 21-year-old joked that while she’s close to fellow Americans Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, “they're a little bit old, so we don't always connect on the same things!”

Gauff makes a conscious effort to connect with the younger players

Gauff’s personal experiences in her early years shaped how she treats the upcoming wave of talent. Reflecting on her interactions with American teenager Iva Jovic, she said, “She’s the age of my little brother. I do feel older than them… I always make a conscious effort… just saying ‘Hi’ or ‘Good luck’”.

That effort is paying off. Gauff and 18-year-old Jovic have made history at the Australian Open, becoming the first Americans under 22 to reach the quarterfinals since Serena and Venus Williams in 2002. As Gauff prepares to face Elina Svitolina and Jovic takes on world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, both are carrying the Next Gen and American flag together.

Do you anticipate an all-American under-25 semifinal at the Australian Open this year?

Written by

Fatema Kapasi

Edited by

Joyita Das