"When Coco Gauff won US Open, reporters said she joined Serena Williams" - Tracy Austin joins Boris Becker in lamenting erasure of tennis history

Former US Open champion Tracy Austin joined Boris Becker in openly criticizing the glorification of only recent stats and records of players by reporting agencies leading to the erasure of tennis history. They were vocal in protesting against the biases and pointed out that it was key that all players, present and past, get the same amount of visibility for their achievements.

Born in California, USA, Austin turned pro in 1978, when she was just 15 years old. She was also the youngest ever to be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame at the age of 29.

She recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to reply to a comment by tennis legend Boris Becker quoting Tennis TV's list of youngest ATP finalists from the 2000s onwards. The German indicated the convenient removal of himself through this post, with Austin affirming the same by illustrating an instance of hers.

"Spot on @BorisBecker When Coco won @usopen reporters said she joined Serena to become the only ‘teenage Americans’ to win @usopen since ‘1990’. Why was that year magical to leave 1 person out when there was only 3 teens total in history😜✋Had to speak up- this was a layup," she wrote.

The American had won US Open championships in the years 1979 & 1981 and spoke vehemently against the skewing of tennis history. She also replied to reporter Randy Walker's post on X (formerly Twitter) and expressed this being 'irritating.'

Very good point Randy. Yes, 3 in the Open Era. The does this ALL the time too! “Youngest since” and leaves people out erasing history. I usually don’t speak up, but it does get irritating," posted Austin.

Her mates Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova condemned this prejudice and sided with Boris Becker as well. Evert and Navratilova were defeated by Austin in the US Open finals in 1979 and 1981, respectively.

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Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert sided with Boris Becker on recency bias comment

Martina Navratilova (L), Chris Evert (Centre) and Boris Becker (R) - Source: Getty

Tennis legends Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert also spoke up on the exclusion of pre-2000s players and supported Boris Becker calling out the media for their bias against them on Tennis TV's recent post on the youngest ATP finalists.

The 18-time Grand Slam champions took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend Becker. Navratilova made a sarcastic comment, showcasing her mixed reaction to the issue.

"Apparently not😳😕😀, " she replied to Becker.

Evert also took to the same platform and joined Navratilova and Austin in voicing her support.

"We did the best with the information, technology, ( wood rackets!) training that was out there. We were champions in our era. Enough said!!!! 🤷‍♀️💪👏👍," she replied.

Boris Becker frequently uses his social media handles to convey his feelings regarding various issues. Although the former World No. 1 and six-time Grand Slam winner engages with all things tennis, the exclusion of tennis icons from the past in contemporary discourse is something he has approached seriously.