Is Coco Gauff ready to make the leap, or are we expecting too much?

The countdown to the 2023 season is underway. As we close in on the start of the new, dual-gender United Cup (December 29), TENNIS.com's writers will debate the 10 biggest questions heading into the new tennis year.

Is Coco Gauff ready to make the leap, or are we expecting too much?

Peter Bodo: The issue here isn't that we are expecting too much of Coco Gauff. It is that many of us have already accorded Gauff celebrity and superstar status out of proportion to her accomplishments. While those are impressive, it is already clear that Gauff is on a different trajectory than was Serena Williams, nor is she the “next” anybody else. Looking at the 18-year old through that comparison lens is a disservice to everyone.

Gauff has a load of upside but neither her personality nor her game is fully formed. She has won only two minor singles titles (neither this year), but in 2022 she did produce a breakout French Open. The way she lost that final—6-1, 6-3 to Iga Swiatek—showed that despite her all-around versatility and superior athleticism, Gauff isn’t a finished product. A disappointing finish to 2022 showed that she has work to do. Let’s give her the time to do it.

Ed McGrogan: This question can be answered in two ways. Is Gauff ready to win major titles? If anything, I think she’s ahead of the curve, and her lopsided loss in this year’s Roland Garros final will help her in the long run. But that’s not to say she’s ready to win one in 2023. Coco’s game is still vulnerable to more consistent and stronger opponents; she’ll need to become more consistent and stronger herself to break through. But is Gauff ready to make the leap into superstardom? In that respect, she’s well ahead of the curve. Between her abilities on the court talent and presence off it, she’ll continue walking the path the Williams sisters have forged as a generational leader.

INTERVIEW: When Tennis Channel caught up with Coco after her first semifinal win at a Slam

Joel Drucker: It’s amazing to think that Gauff is still only 18. Her dedication, focus and desire to both compete and improve has been exemplary. The results have been there too, with Gauff’s year-ranking rising nicely each year since her 2019 Wimbledon debut—from 68th to 47th to 19th to 7th at the end of 2022. Granted, the mountain gets much steeper once a player reaches the Top 10. And the entire world knows that Gauff’s forehand is worse than her backhand. But there’s no reason to think that Gauff won’t continue to excel and get even better in 2023.

Stephanie Livaudais: Is a player who has reached her first Grand Slam singles final, qualified for the WTA Finals and earned a career-high Top 5 ranking…ready to make “the leap” in 2023? This question would usually be an easy yes. But when it comes to Coco, my first instinct is often to give her extra leeway, to allow her the benefit of the doubt because of her age.

This bit of “doubt” is actually healthy for teen phenoms in tennis, a sport known to eat its young with pressure and media attention. Asking this sort of question after the best season of the 18-year-old’s nascent career is a sign that the sport is course-correcting in the right direction. But as Billie Jean King famously said, “Pressure is a privilege”, and it’s time to give Gauff the benefit of feeling some pressure by expecting great things from her next season.

The American has already shown she is ready to compete for the sport’s biggest trophies. But her 3-11 record against the WTA’s Top 10 means there is still homework to do.