Coco Gauff backed to drive WTA explosion in American boom
“Craig Tiley, the CEO of Tennis Australia, has identified American tennis players as the primary driving force behind the WTA’s economic success, with Coco Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, emerging as a prominent figure in the country’s tennis growth.”
In a conversation during the 2023 Laver Cup in Vancouver, Tennis Australia’s CEO discussed the current prominence of American tennis players in the WTA.
Additionally, Tiley claimed that Gauff, the third-ranked player in the world, and her fellow Americans may be vital to the growth of the sport.
Tiley feels that American women doing well will prove to be good for the sport commercially.
Gauff is one of three Americans in the top 20 of the WTA Tour rankings joined by frequent doubles partner Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys.
“Well, look, we have been fortunate. We came through an era of having great champions, American champions. We have the U.S. players reaching the highest levels of the game. That’s why Coco Gauff is going to be so great for the sport. It is the commercial engine of the sport globally. So, I think that’s great for the sport, having more of that. I do see some light at the end of the tunnel with that,” Tiley said.
“That’s no disrespect, there is a lot of great European players, but the market in the U.S. is just so much bigger, and I think that’s good for the sport globally,” he added.
Tiley went on to say that the WTA would be better off deepening their collaboration with the ATP.
In addition, he insisted that there be equal possibilities for men and women in the sport.
The season-opening United Cup which will kick off the 2024 campaign, is one such example of further cooperation between the two bodies.
“I think the WTA gets helped by the ATP and the WTA doing more things together. It’s the great benefit of our sport. You know, most of the Grand Slams have been paying, for the last 40 years, been paying equal prize money. One of the great benefits of our sport are men and women have equal opportunity,” Tiley said.
In late December, the United States team will begin its defence of the United Cup in Perth, where Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek were drawn to compete in the mixed team tournament’s group round on Monday. Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz will lead the United States squad with Gauff opting to start her season in Auckland.
The eighteen teams have been split up into six groups, three of which will play in Sydney and three of which will play the preliminary round in Perth, Australia’s West Coast, starting on 29 December.
China and the Czech Republic were placed into Group E with Djokovic’s six-player Serbian team. The hosts Australia and Britain are in Group C alongside the third-seeded American squad. In Group A, Swiatek’s Poland squad will play Spain and a qualifier.
