Coco Gauff is good. We know that. She has been a top player on the WTA tour for several years and she is only still 20 years old. She might not ever be Serena Williams, as far as the level of success achieved, but she should win more than one major. Hopefully, she will win more than 10.
But if she does, she might have to battle against some other American stars to earn those. Currently, American tennis, both on the men's and women's side, is having a bit of a resurgence. On the WTA side, Gauff has reached No. 3 while Jessica Pegula is No. 5. After winning the Australian Open, Madison Keys has now moved up to No. 6.
That is the first time since 2004 that three American women have been ranked in the top six of the tour. The last time it happened (Match 1, 2004), there were four women ranked in the top 10. Those included Lindsay Davenport at No. 4, Jennifer Capriati at No. 5, Serena Williams at No. 6, and Chanda Rubin at No. 9.
American women rule, Roger Federer's racket sells, and Serena Williams dances
As for Pegula, her No. 6 ranking is the highest of her career. There is a fourth American woman inside the top 10 currently, too. Emma Navarro is No. 9. Gauff is pretty solidly set at No. 3, but in the late summer, she might be able to make up some ground due to her poor performance last summer.
In completely different news, the racket Roger Federer used during his 2004 Wimbledon run recently went up for auction on TheTennisAuction.com, and it fetched a nice sum. Federer defeated Andy Roddick in the final that year, the first time that Federer had successfully defended a Grand Slam title. The winning bid was for $118,206.
Bidding took place over an 18-day span and there were 26 bids. Still, the amount the racket sold for was not an all-time best for a racket. One that Rafael Nadal used in his 2022 Australian Open holds the mark at $139,700.
Finally, after making a run (literally) on the field of Super Bowl LIX this past Sunday, Serena Williams also came back onto the field to help Kendrick Lamar with his halftime show. Lamar was performing "Not Like Us," and Williams could be seen dancing on stage. The song is a diss track directed at Williams' ex, Drake.
One might only wonder what Drake thought of seeing Williams dance to the Lamar hit. Maybe he will write a rap about it.