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When Coco Gauff faced off against 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva of Russia during the third round of the 2023 French Open on Saturday, it marked the first time Gauff, 19, played a Grand Slam singles match against a player younger than herself.
Gauff, the runner-up at last year’s French Open, lost the first set to Andreeva, but rallied back in the next two sets, ultimately winning the match 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-1 to advance to the fourth round, where she’ll face Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
But while much of the media ahead of the match focused on age, that topic wasn’t on Gauff’s mind when she stepped onto the court.
“I was just thinking about playing the opponent,” she said. “To be honest, you don’t really think about (age) as an athlete.”
Asked after if she thinks the media focuses too much on that topic, Gauff smiled.
“I’m gonna be honest: Yes. … Age is important to mention sometimes but, as a player and going through it, yes, it gets a little bit annoying. Because I feel…
