The 22-time major champion talks about the WTA's rising star while in Zhuhai.

Steffi Graf has weighed in on the rapid rise of 15-year-old Coco Gauff, saying that she believes the American will provide fans with plenty of must watch tennis over the next few years.

“It's going to be incredible to follow her the next few years,” Graf told reporters while speaking at the WTA Elite Trophy, where she has served as the tournament ambassador since 2016.

Tennis Express

Graf said she’ll refrain from giving Gauff advice through the media, adding that the rising star doesn’t seem to need much at all, given how much success she has had on the WTA Tour over the last four months.

“She's got such an effortless style and such raw talent,” Graf said. “So I don't think she will need, she needs anything, any advice, the way I'm thinking.”

Graf, a 22-time major champion, played in her first professional tournament in 1982, but did not break through to win her first major until Roland Garros in 1987. Like Gauff, she also reached the second week of Wimbledon as a 15-year-old, in 1984.


The German has yet to meet Gauff, but has come away impressed with her passion and athleticism when she has watched the American play.

“I have not met her,” Graf told reporters. “But I did see her play here and there a little bit at some of the televised matches. So it doesn't seem like she needs a whole lot of advice. … “Talk about somebody that's enjoying herself out there, you can see her intensity and incredible athleticism.”

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