Sports
Why Coco Gauff is so tough to face – told by those who have
First, some numbers.
Coco Gauff is 34-4 since she got a tough draw at Wimbledon and lost in the first round to 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
She had a 16-match win streak from the middle of August to early October.
She is undefeated in 2024, a perfect 10-0, winning 20 of 22 sets.
She played her worst match in aeons in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open on Tuesday against Marta Kostyuk, double-faulting nine times and allowing Kostyuk to break her serve seven times. And she still won.
All of this qualifies Gauff as “tough to beat”.
She is one the biggest stars in women’s tennis and arguably its best athlete. She grew up in Florida playing basketball and running track. Her father had her tossing footballs to build up her shoulder strength. She does not quit.
But why? What makes solving Gauff so difficult? What are her superpowers?
We asked some of the people who know best and Gauff herself.
The movement
There is a saying in tennis that strokes can be erratic but legs never go into a slump. Gauff certainly has that going for her. Her forehand can be unreliable. Her serve is prone to shakiness. She’s still a teenager. But she is the Energizer Bunny of women’s tennis.
“She’s moving really well,” says world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who has a 2-4 record against Gauff. “Everything you do on court, it’s coming back. You need to build the point, probably a couple of times in one point, to have that, not easy shot, but, yeah, easy shot, to finish the point.”
Gauff outlasts opponents often in rallies (Yanshan Zhang/Getty Images)
Laura Robson, the former pro and now television commentator, calls Gauff the best mover in women’s tennis.
“She’s so explosive,” Robson says.
Gauff doesn’t disagree.
Asked for a list of her strengths, this is how she started: “Definitely my movement.”
With a powerful serve and a solid return, Gauff has won 60 percent of the points at this tournament that last less than five shots, but as a point goes on and becomes a running race, her drop-off isn’t all that steep despite that shaky forehand. She wins 56 percent of those between five and eight shots, and 54 percent when the point lasts more than nine shots.
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The serve
Gauff has the fastest serve in this tournament so far, at 123.7mph (199kmh). She said she didn’t realize how hard she served until she started on the tour at 15 and saw the speed clock on the scoreboard hitting the 120s. Other women didn’t do that. She was impressed.
“When my serve is on, I think my serve is a big weapon for me,” she says.
Gauff hits one of her big serves in Melbourne (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
When it’s working, the serve is hard and deep. Kostyuk calls Gauff’s serve “tricky”.
“Great serve,” the world No 50 Linda Noskova, who is 0-2 against Gauff, answers immediately when asked about her strengths.
The return
This may be one of the more overlooked parts of Gauff’s game.
A student of the sport always on the lookout for an edge, Gauff has spent a lot of time watching videos of Novak Djokovic, arguably the greatest returner ever. She said she has tried to emulate his shorter return stroke and use the power of her opponents’ serves against them, rather than generating power on her own.
That is what she did for years as a junior, stepping into the court and ripping. Over the years, she’s learned that isn’t necessary or effective against better serves from grown women.
Better get your first serve in against her — otherwise, she wins 64 percent of the points.
Gauff hits a return against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk (William West/AFP via Getty Images)
Storm Hunter, one of the top doubles players, says playing that version of tennis — Gauff is a two-time Grand Slam doubles finalist — has likely helped her return immensely.
In doubles, Hunter says, “You have to be really specific with your serve and return and you have to kind of make some decisions more: more tactical decisions, changing down the line or lob crossing.”
The backhand
Gauff would hit backhands all day if she could. She can fire it down the line or crosscourt. She can float it softly to thread a needle or whip it running into the court after a dying drop shot.
“Backhand, obviously, is her strength,” Kostyuk says. “It’s good. It’s really good. She’s not missing much from the backhand. And you really need to pick a shot. You really need to pick which shot you’re going to play there because it has to be sharp and it has to be different.”
At the net
Gauff 1.0 was not a great net player. Her hands lacked a softness and she didn’t have the surety she does now.
Kostyuk says Gauff gets so close to the net and with her long arms, she can be hard to pass. Lobs can work, but she can use her speed and her engine to chase those down.
Gauff has improved her volleying (George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Again, Hunter says, doubles has likely helped.
“She sees the ball very early and takes balls out of the air and puts them away,” she says. “It makes it very difficult. She has a lot of courage, especially, because, she’s young, but she’s confident.”
The fighter
There are no real metrics for mental strength, but you know it when you see it; or, in Gauff’s case, when you feel it.
“That’s gotten me through a lot of matches,” she says. “I feel like, mentally, I’m one of the strongest out there and I try my best to reset after each point.”
Casey Dellacqua, the Australian commentator and 2011 French Open mixed doubles champion, backs that thinking, saying it is what makes the difference for Gauff.
“It’s her competitiveness, her composure and her refusal to leave the court,” she says. “We saw that in the quarterfinals, even when she wasn’t playing that well. When you’re a Grand Slam champion, you have that X factor. She has that.”
(Top photo: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Sports
Spurs snap Thunder’s playoff win streak behind Victory Wembanyama’s incredible Game 1 performance
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The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals having not lost an NBA Playoffs game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year.
But they hadn’t faced Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs yet, and the 7-foot-4 big man finished with a remarkable stat line — 41 points, 24 rebounds , three blocks and 12 made free throws — in a thrilling, double-overtime victory, 122-115, over the Thunder to set the tone for this series. FOX Sports listed Wembanyama with 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the final score of the period confirmed the 122-115 double-overtime result.
Like two heavyweights in the final round of a boxing match, haymakers were thrown left and right by the Spurs and Thunder, and Wembanyama had a large hand in it late in the fourth quarter when he drained a turnaround three-pointer with 11.5 seconds left on the clock to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player before the start of the series, came through in the clutch on the opposite end. With 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, his sprint to the basket ended with a tying layup to force overtime.
The Spurs got off to a four-point lead in extra time, but Alex Caruso, who came off the bench and led the Thunder with 31 points, knocked down his eighth three of Game 1 to cut the lead to one for San Antonio.
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The Thunder used that momentum, as Jalen Williams had a dunk to take a 106-105 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander added to it with a dunk of his own. “Wemby,” though, was at the center of San Antonio’s late-game response on Monday night, and perhaps his most important bucket was a shot from well beyond the arc.
Wembanyama took the ball from Stephon Castle and added to the guard’s assist total with a 27-foot three near the Oklahoma City logo to tie the game at 108 apiece with 27 seconds left. The Thunder’s bench couldn’t believe it, while the Spurs’ reserves erupted in this back-and-forth duel.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
Williams couldn’t hit a three-pointer on the other end, and despite drawing up a great play, Caruso knocked down Dylan Harper’s attempted alley-oop to Castle with just 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime to keep the score where it was.
Needing one more extra period, Wembanyama took the game into his hands. He scored nine points in double overtime, while the Spurs tightened up defensively, with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell coming up with key blocks in the end.
Castle finished with 11 assists to lead the Spurs in that category, while rookie guard Dylan Harper made vital contributions with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a game-high seven steals in the win. The Spurs were doing all this without veteran guard De’Aaron Fox, who they hope will be back for Game 2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
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Williams had 26 points for Oklahoma City, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting with 12 assists and five steals.
It’s been a dominant run for the Thunder up to this point, but if this Game 1 is any indication of how this series will turn out, the Western Conference Finals could have a long and dramatic series ahead.
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HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round
DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez
Second Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson
Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
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