"Coco Gauff has been a teenager since 10 years" - Caroline Garcia & Belinda Bencic share disbelief over American's early rise to top

Caroline Garcia and Belinda Bencic were in disbelief over the rapid rise of Coco Gauff. At just 20 years old, Gauff has already climbed to the top of the WTA rankings, impressing both fans and fellow players alike.

Gauff started playing tennis at the age of six and made her professional debut at 15 during the 2019 Miami Open on the WTA Tour. Later that year, she received a wildcard entry into the qualifying rounds of Wimbledon, where she became the youngest player in tournament history to qualify for the main draw. In an unforgettable moment, she defeated Venus Williams in the first round and went on to reach the fourth round.

The American tennis star won her first Grand Slam title at the age of 19 in the 2023 US Open and has already claimed nine WTA singles titles and nine doubles titles. She has reached career-high rankings of world No. 2 in singles and world No. 1 in doubles, as recognized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Her record includes three Wimbledon quarter-final appearances (2019, 2021, and 2024), a semifinal run at the 2024 Australian Open, and a spot in the 2022 French Open final.

On the 21st episode of the Tennis Insider Club podcast, hosted by Caroline Garcia and Borja Duran on February 24, 2025, Belinda Bencic, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, shared her thoughts on the incredible achievements of Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva. Reflecting on their success at such a young age—20 and 17, respectively—Bencic expressed her admiration during the episode, saying:

“I feel like some players entered Top 100 with 27 and some players entered top 100 with 17. So, like Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva, now are also very, very young, you know, entering.”

Caroline Garcia also resonated with the Swiss’s perspective and shared similar thoughts, saying:

“I feel Coco has been here for a year and she's like, I don't know, 21, 22. I'm like, is she ever getting old? Yeah, I feel like she's been a teenager since 10 years.”

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Coco Gauff, Belinda Bencic, Caroline Garcia & Mirra Andreeva recently competed at Dubai Tennis Championships

Mirra Andreeva after winning Dubai Tennis Championships - Day Seven - Source: Getty

Coco Gauff, Belinda Bencic, Caroline Garcia, and Mirra Andreeva competed in the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships, a WTA 1000 event held on outdoor hard courts. As one of the premier tournaments in the early part of the WTA season, the competition took place from February 16 to 22.

Gauff had a surprising early exit from the tournament, losing in straight sets to fellow American McCartney Kessler in the first round. Caroline Garcia also bowed out in the opening round after falling to Marketa Vondrousova.

Belinda Bencic started her campaign with a first-round win over Japan’s Aoi Ito but bowed out in the second round after a hard-fought three-set battle against American Emma Navarro.

Meanwhile, Russia’s 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva had an incredible run in Dubai, ultimately securing the champion’s trophy. She kicked off her campaign with a win over Elina Avanesyan and continued her impressive streak by defeating Marketa Vondrousova and Peyton Stearns on her way to the quarterfinals.

In the fourth round, the Russian stunned world No. 2 Iga Swiatek with a straight-sets victory. She then battled past Elena Rybakina in a hard-fought three-set semifinal to secure her spot in the final. There, she lifted her maiden WTA 1000 trophy by defeating Clara Tauson.