After coming through qualifying, Gauff beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon<\/a> in her first round match.<\/p>\n Although Gauff is now a two-time Grand Slam champion<\/a>, she did not fulfil a prediction that John McEnroe<\/a> had for her.<\/p>\n Gauff beat five-time Wimbledon champion Williams<\/a>, 6-4 6-4, on the No.1 Court in her debut Grand Slam match.<\/p>\n This victory provoked a huge reaction from across the world, with even McEnroe impressed by the teenager.<\/p>\n When speaking to the BBC<\/a> at the time, McEnroe was full of praise for Gauff<\/a> and backed her to become world number one as a teenager.<\/p>\n \u201cGauff\u2019s not only physically mature, but also mentally,\u201d said McEnroe. \u201cI look at the way she plays. If she\u2019s not number one in world by 20 I will be absolutely shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Only five teenagers in history had managed to reach the summit of the WTA rankings before, with Martina Hingis the youngest at 16 years and 182 days.<\/p>\n Another of those teenage number ones is Tracy Austin<\/a>, who also hyped up Gauff\u2019s future at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have been talking about Coco for years,\u201d said Austin. \u201cThey have now started to recognise her internationally. <\/p>\n \u201cObviously she\u2019s a tremendous athlete, but to walk on court to face Venus, a player who she idolises, there were plenty of opportunities for her to get tight and nervous. She has been raised for greatness and this is beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n WTA Teenager who was world number oneAge when they became world number oneMartina Hingis16 years and 182 daysMonica Seles17 years and 99 daysTracy Austin17 years and 116 daysSteffi Graf18 years and 64 daysMaria Sharapova18 years and 125 days<\/p>\n Gauff would go on to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon that year, but McEnroe\u2019s prediction about her never came true.<\/p>\n The American would reach a career-high as a teenager of world number three, which Gauff achieved after winning the 2023 US Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gauff, who is now 21 years old, has since bettered this, but is still yet to lead the WTA<\/a> rankings.<\/p>\n Could Coco Gauff become world number one this year?<\/p>\n Gauff is currently the world number two, with Aryna Sabalenka leading the WTA rankings<\/a> on a colossal 12,420 points.<\/p>\n Sabalenka<\/a> leads Gauff by 4,751 in the rankings, but there are still some big tournaments coming up this year.<\/p>\n This includes the final Grand Slam of 2025, where Sabalenka is the defending US Open champion<\/a> and has 2,000 ranking points to protect.<\/p>\n Although Gauff did not perform so well at the US Open<\/a> last year, she still has a significant number of ranking points to defend from her title victories at the WTA Finals<\/a> and the China Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n WTA RankingTotal Ranking pointsPoints defending this yearRanking points earned in 20251. Aryna Sabalenka12,4205,0257,3952. Coco Gauff7,6693,0604,609<\/p>\n While Gauff is currently the person closest to catching Sabalenka, another WTA player has actually been backed to finish the year as world number one<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Coco](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-1154618780-1024x676.jpg\")
Photo by Rob Newell \u2013 CameraSport via Getty ImagesWhat John McEnroe predicted would happen to Coco Gauff at Wimbledon in 2019<\/p>\n