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The triumph came amid a 16-match winning streak
for Gauff that ended in the China Open semi-final last month at
the hands of old foe Iga Swiatek of Poland.
"The next generation has arrived and stood on the shoulders of
the great Serena Williams and Venus Williams," said Allaster,
the chief executive, Professional Tennis, with the USTA.
"It feels like she's been around for a long time. She's only
19... She is special. She is humble and kind, she's hardworking.
And she is very, very focused on winning."
The 19-year-old proved as captivating to fans as the idols who
inspired her growing up as 3.4 million viewers tuned in for the
U.S. Open final on ESPN, making it the most-watched major
women's championship ever on the network.
The moment was made all the sweeter for Allaster, the former WTA
head who won the Women's Sports Foundation's Billie Jean King
Leadership Award this year after the U.S. Open celebrated its
50th anniversary of gender equal prize money.
It is a landmark that has yet to be replicated across all of
tennis as the WTA announced earlier this year a "pathway to
handing out equal prize money" at combined WTA 1000 and 500
events, starting from 2027.
"It's certainly a proof point of the value of women's sport, of
women's tennis, when the fans are showing up in the stadiums and
loving it," she said. "And then we know the fans are showing up
and consuming on ESPN and around the world."
World number three Gauff will next compete in the WTA Finals in
Cancun, with the season-ending tournament kicking of the group
stage on Sunday.
"I am looking forward to seeing how Coco performs with, you
know, a greater spotlight on her. She's had a spotlight on her
for a long time. This is a marathon. It's not a sprint," said
Allaster. "We have seen her resilience."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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