Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff, the 15-year-old who made headlines when she defeated the tennis superstar in July, will play Venus Williams again after her historic run at Wimbledon last year.
What We Know:
- Gauff defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Williams, 6-4, 6-4, in a first-round match at the tournament last year. She went on to become the youngest tennis player in the Open era to qualify for Wimbledon’s main event.
- The Australian Open had announced the sporting event to begin on January 20th but had temporarily suspended a practice earlier this week due to air quality concerns. Australia continues its ongoing fight against devastating bushfires which have resulted in one of the nation’s worst environmental crisis in recent history.
- Despite some delays, qualifying matches continued. In a recent match, Slovenian tennis player Dalila Jakupovic, had no choice but to forfeit her qualifying match after suffering a coughing fit due in part by the poor air quality.
- The organization stated that decisions over the tournament will be put together “based on onsite data, and in close consultation with our medical team, the Bureau of Meteorology and scientists from EPA Victoria.”
Further decisions will be made based on onsite data, and in close consultation with our medical team, the Bureau of Meteorology and scientists from EPA Victoria.
As always the health and safety of our players, our staff and our fans is our priority.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2020
The New York Times reported that Williams and Gauff are set to play each other in the upcoming Australian Open after being unveiled in a draw ceremony Thursday.
