U.S. Open officials are doing everything they can to get Cori “Coco” Gauff into next month's tournament.
Officials are planning to give a wildcard to the 15-year-old sensation that caught everyone's attention when she played at Wimbledon, according to the New York Post, which cited unidentified sources. The only problem is they have to work around the WTA's age restrictions for 15 year olds.
A player can use a maximum of three wildcards when they are 15, but Gauff has already accepted her three as she attended the Miami Open, the French Open qualifiers and the Wimbledon qualifiers.
“We would expect to see Coco in the main draw of the US Open,’’ USTA director of communications Chris Widmaier told The Post. “She certainly won the hearts of tennis fans in our country with her Wimbledon performance. It’s not every day an athlete of her age becomes water-cooler talk.‘’
Widmaier added that he believes the Open will be "exempt," while an anonymous WTA spokesperson explained to the Post that they don't believe the governing body will intervene.
“The US Open, as a Grand Slam, reserves the right to not align with the Age Eligibility Rule and offer a player a Wild Card in excess of her limit per the Age Eligibility Rule,’’ WTA spokesperson said.
The Post notes that Gauff can only play 10 pro events from when she turns 15 until her 16th birthday under the age-eligibility bylaws. Gauff is still eligible to play 12 more pro tournaments before her birthday on March 13. She's played seven pro tournaments since she turned 15, but received a merit bonus of two extra events.
“She went from being not on the radar in women’s tennis to being their biggest star,” tennis historian and former USTA staffer Randy Walker said. “She’s box office. The Open fans are going to go cuckoo for Coco.”
Gauff entered Wimbledon ranked No. 313 in the world and jumped up an impressive 172 spots. She's now No. 141 after making it to the fourth round at the All England Club.