First Coco Gauff ran her way into tennis history on Saturday. Then she ran off the Arthur Ashe Stadium court and into the arms of her parents, Corey and Candi, for a long, tearful embrace. 

Just 19 years old, Gauff summited to tennis’ pinnacle, with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open final. 

In the final, she lost the first set, then seized control against Sabalenka, making the 25-year-old from Belarus, who will be No. 1 in the world on Monday, look second-best on Saturday. 

Gauff became the first American teen to win in Flushing Meadows since 1999, when Serena Williams did it. And with her name on the trophy along with that of Williams, her athletic idol, she couldn’t help but be awed by her place as the latest Black woman to leave her mark on tennis’ biggest stage. And her career is just starting. 

Serena Williams and her sister, Venus. Althea Gibson, Sloane Stephens and Japan’s Naomi Osaka. And now, Gauff. 

“[The Williams sisters are] the reason why I have this trophy, to be honest. They’ve allowed me to believe in this dream growing up,” said Gauff, who has been open in her admiration of the Williams sisters. “There wasn’t too many just Black tennis players dominating the sport. It was literally, at that time when I was younger, it was just them. … 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. You look back at the history with Indian Wells, with Serena, all she had to go through. Venus fighting for equal pay. Yeah, it’s just crazy, and it’s an honor to be in that kind of lineup as them.” 

Between the Williams sisters, Stephens and now Gauff, the last 10 American women to win at Flushing Meadows have been Black. 

Gauff admitted she used to put undue pressure on herself because of the incessant comparisons to Serena Williams. She even said she had been gaslit to feel if she didn’t break through and win a major by the age of Williams’ first that “it wouldn’t be an achievement.” 

But that’s the thing about Gauff — she learns. 

That’s how she has gone from promising prospect to U.S. Open champ. Despite great defense and a wide array of weapons in her arsenal, the biggest one isn’t between the baselines, but between her ears. 

After she lost the 2022 French Open final, she learned she had to stop heaping pressure on her own shoulders, and to not tie her self-worth to tennis. 

“I used to put my tennis and compare it to my self-worth. When I’d lose, I’d think I was not worth it as a person,” Gauff said. “So having my parents always remind me they loved me regardless of how I do helped me [Saturday].” 

After a first-round Wimbledon exit in July, Gauff learned she needed help on her team and she brought in Brad Gilbert. She absorbed his mantra of winning ugly, and the result has been a stellar 18-1 run and her first Grand Slam title. 

On the biggest stage of Gauff’s young life, she learned minute-by-minute. Thrown off by the big Belarusian’s power, she was hitting too short. But she adjusted from aiming just inside the baseline to aiming for the baseline. 

She also lured Sabalenka into longer rallies, and used her defense to win them — and to win the title by seizing command in the second and third sets. 

“It’s an honor to be in that stat with Althea Gibson, Serena, Venus, Naomi, Sloane. They paved the way for me to be here,” Gauff said. “I remember Sloane winning this trophy in 2017. It was an inspiring moment for me to see her win, because I grew up watching her. … Obviously Serena and Venus, words can’t describe what they meant to me. 

“I hope I’m a continuation of a legacy. I hope another girl can see this and believe they can do it and hopefully their name can be on this trophy too.” 

Oh, she will be. 

She’ll inspire the next generation, such as Robin Montgomery and Junior Wimbledon champ Clervie Ngounoue. And the USTA has created the U.S. Open Legacy Initiative, allocating $3 million to refurbish 200 courts at public parks all in Gauff’s name. 

At 19, Gauff has taken her place in that legacy. 

And her career is just starting.