By: Ella Esparrago '26
The US Open is a hard court tennis tournament held annually in Queens, New York. Over the summer, I had the amazing experience of being on the US Open Ball Crew. Being a ball girl came with so many incredible opportunities, such as meeting or even working on your favorite tennis players court. I got to meet so many extraordinary tennis players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Sorana Cirstea, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Guaff, Madison Keys, Frances Tiafoe, Christopher Eubanks, and I was even on Ben Shelton’s court.
One of my favorite matches I’ve watched has been Coco Guaff and Aryna Sabalenka. Both women are such an inspiration to young girls around the world. Being a ball girl, I know firsthand how hard working both Guaff and Sabalenka are. They both played an amazing match, with Guaff, who is only 19, winning the third set and final set 6-2. After this match, Guaff claimed her role as the US Open 2023 Women’s singles champion. Going to an all girls school, I find Guaff an amazing role model. Guaff got herself noticed in the beginning of the tennis tournament when she stood up for herself to the umpire with her match against Laura Siegemund. Siegemund claimed that Guaff was too quick on her serves, and was moving too fast. However, Siegemund received time warnings and was penalized a point for a time penalty later in the third set. Guaff stood up for herself by confronting the umpire Marijana Veljovic, stating that Siegemund was not ready for whenever she started to serve, and that she did not care what she was doing with her serves, but Siegemund had to be ready whenever Guaff was serving. Guaff later on stated in her post-match press conference that she had no regrets for standing up for herself, and only wished she had done it sooner. Guaff is such an inspiration, and she motivates many young women to not be afraid to stand up for themselves and extend beyond their comfort zone. I look forward to next year and seeing Guaff play in the US Open.
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Edited by: Katarina Radulovic '24 and Ms. Brilliant
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