2024 US Open: Coco Gauff's rising career hits a bump before she defends her first Grand Slam title

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2024 US Open: Coco Gauff's rising career hits a bump before she defends her first Grand Slam title

2024-08-23 00:10 Last Updated At：00:21

NEW YORK (AP) — Yes, Coco Gauff is a Grand Slam champion. Yes, she's been ranked No. 1 in doubles and No. 2 in singles. Yes, she's already a big star who transcends her sport and was a flag bearer alongside LeBron James at the Paris Olympics ... and has a signature shoe ... and is featured on Wheaties boxes and ... and ... and ...

And yet, back in New York for Monday's start of the U.S. Open, which she won a year ago for her first major trophy — the first American teen to do so since Serena Williams in 1999 — Gauff still occasionally might sound like someone who deals with impostor syndrome.

Put simply: She does not quite understand what all the fuss is about.

“I just thought I was nobody,” Gauff said. “The whole flag bearer thing is still mind-blowing to me. Like, ’Why am I up there?'”

As she wandered around the athletes village, Gauff often was stopped by other Olympians hoping they could pose with her for a photo.

“I’m like, ‘Can I get a selfie with you, too?’ I just wasn’t really expecting this,” the Floridian said. “Maybe I just don’t get it.”

When she was asked less than a month ago for her thoughts on the U.S. Open and its importance to her still-nascent career, Gauff replied: “It hasn’t been on my mind.”

Gauff said she was instead focused on the 2024 Games and soaking up that experience fully.

“She’s really embraced her star power, kind of,” said Jessica Pegula, a top-10 singles player and Gauff’s frequent doubles partner, “but at the same time, she’s like a kid.”

The off-court aspects of Gauff's Olympics debut were a huge success: meeting James; collecting pins; the college-style getting to know folks of various backgrounds; chatting at breakfast with athletes such as 100-meter dash gold medalist Noah Lyles.

“He’s probably the most confident (athlete) I ever met in my life,” Gauff said, “other than maybe Serena.”

The on-court results in France? Not as gratifying.

Gauff exited in the third round of singles after arguing with the chair umpire over a late call, then lost her second match in both women's doubles and mixed doubles.

“I’ll try to take the positive out of it,” Gauff said, “and do better next time.”

With her title defense — a term she says she doesn't love — about to begin, Gauff is going through a rough stretch of results.

She was eliminated in the fourth round at Wimbledon while visibly upset at her coach, Brad Gilbert. After the struggles at the Olympics, she moved to the hard courts to prepare for New York and that did not go well: Gauff lost her second match in Toronto and her first in Cincinnati. Her ranking slid from No. 2 to No. 3.

Hardly the ideal leadup she enjoyed in 2023 by winning 11 of 12 matches and titles at Washington and Cincinnati before arriving at the U.S. Open for her star-making turn.

“She’s getting constant attention, all the time, and that’s a lot to deal with,” said Emma Navarro, who beat Gauff at Wimbledon and was her U.S. teammate at the Olympics. “I have a lot of respect for her and how she handles that.”

It will be fascinating to see how Gauff does when the lights come on in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Her intial opponent is Varvara Gracheva, who lost in the first round the past two years in New York.

“You just don’t know — you don’t consciously know — the expectations that creep into your cells in your body,” said Chris Evert, a six-time U.S. Open champion and now an ESPN analyst. “Everybody, from Day 1, has thought about Coco: ‘She’s the next Serena Williams. She’s going to be the next one that dominates.’ That stays with you for a long time.”

There will be other story lines of interest, from top-ranked Jannik Sinner's recent doping case to defending champion Novak Djokovic's bid for a 25th Grand Slam title to Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka vying for a second major championship of 2024 to the U.S. men trying to end a 21-year Slam drought.

Gauff could face the most scrutiny of anyone.

“I have a lot more aspirations obviously than just winning one (major),” she said. “I think the start of one just gives you a taste and gives you the belief that you can do it again.”

Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Reds pay tribute to Pete Rose a day after he was posthumously reinstated by MLB

2025-05-15 08:19 Last Updated At：08:21

CINCINNATI (AP) — Pete Rose was celebrated by the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night, a day after baseball’s career hits leader was posthumously removed from Major League Baseball’s permanent ineligibility list.

There were chants of “Pete! Pete!” at Great American Ball Park. There was a pregame moment of silence, and a choir from Rose's Cincinnati high school performed the national anthem. And No. 14 was everywhere, from the replica jerseys in the stands to the highlights shown on the videoboard.

It was the type of all-out effort that Rose himself would have appreciated.

“This city was my dad," Rose’s daughter, Fawn, said.

Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin and Eric Davis — who played for Rose when he managed the Reds — shared stories about their former manager during a pregame panel, joined by former Rose teammate George Foster. Members of Rose's family delivered the game ball before Cincinnati's matchup with the Chicago White Sox.

“He played baseball with as much passion and competitive enjoyment as you ever could,” said Reds manager Terry Francona, who played with Rose with Montreal and played for him with Cincinnati. “You wanted to be on his team.”

Rose, who died in September at age 83, played for the Reds in 19 of his 24 seasons, winning two of his three World Series championships with his hometown team. His career was tarnished by a gambling scandal that led to a permanent ban on Aug. 23, 1989.

An investigation commissioned by Major League Baseball concluded Rose — a 17-time All-Star who finished with 4,256 hits — repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager of the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule.

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday he was changing the league’s policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire at death. Manfred met with Fawn Rose and Jeffrey Lenkov, a lawyer who represented Pete Rose, on Dec. 17.

Manfred “was gracious, kind,” Fawn Rose said. “Really gave me a forum to talk about my dad, not the baseball player, but the father, the grandfather and really what he means to the (fans) of Cincinnati.”

Pete Rose Jr., who appeared in 11 games with Cincinnati in 1997, said he was angry when he first heard about Manfred's decision because he couldn't call his father. But he called the change a step in the right direction.

“Hate to say this, but it’s not going to bring him back," he said. "If they would have said you’re not going to be taken off the list, but you’re coming back, hey bring him back. But nothing but positives today.”

While Rose's gambling ban made him a baseball pariah, that was never the case in a city that proudly embraces its status as the home of the oldest major league team. He was almost uniformly beloved in his hometown for his relentless playing style and his connection to the Big Red Machine — the dominant Reds teams in the mid-1970s.

“My dad used to tell me all the stories of how hard he played every time,” said Reds reliever Brent Suter, a Cincinnati native. “You know, never took a play off, always was running hard 90 (feet), sliding headfirst, you know, getting dirty every game. ... This was a guy who just embodied toughness, grit.”

There were long lines at several gates as the capacity crowd filed into the ballpark. A steady stream of fans stopped in front of Rose's statue for pictures before going inside the stadium.

There was a black tarp with the No. 14 over the pitcher's mound as the players took batting practice.

“I remember his hustle. The headfirst slides. He was a person with not a lot of talent, but he worked so hard,” said Bob Wunder, 65, of Dayton.

Wunder expressed his frustration with the timing of Manfred's decision.

“It’s awful. They should have done it when he was alive," he said. "If I was the (Rose) family, I would say ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ I’m upset that it had to wait until he passed away.”

The change in Rose's status makes him eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame — long a sore spot for Rose's most ardent supporters — but his Cooperstown induction is far from a given.

Rose's case would be considered by the Hall’s Classic Baseball Era committee, which next meets to consider players in December 2027. A 10-person panel selects eight ballot candidates with the approval of the Hall’s board, and the group is considered by 16 members at the winter meetings, with a 75% or higher vote needed.

“I know I oversimplify things. But what Pete did as a player, if he's not in, there is no Hall of Fame,” Francona said. “But I get it. There are some things that ... I'm glad I don't have to make (those) decisions.”

Jerry Casebolt, 80, of Florence, Kentucky, stopped to get his photo taken in front of the Rose statue before the game. He said he was at the 1970 All-Star Game when Rose bowled over Ray Fosse in a memorable play at the plate, and he also attended the game when Rose broke Ty Cobb’s hits record.

The removal of Rose from the ineligible list was meaningful for him.

“It was great to hear the news,” he said. “Just opening up the gates (to the Hall of Fame), but it’s still questionable. Hope he gets in. Shame he didn’t get to see it.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb