Gauff now world No. 1 in doubles

NEW YORK • American teenager Coco Gauff yesterday became the new world No. 1 in women's doubles after her weekend title win at the Canadian Open with compatriot Jessica Pegula.

The 18-year-old is the second-youngest player to head the doubles rankings after Swiss great Martina Hingis, who was 17 when she achieved the feat in 1998.

Gauff said becoming world No. 1 in doubles was "pretty cool" even if she could not claim it was a childhood dream.

"As a kid, I'm going to be honest with you, I didn't even know there was separate rankings for singles and doubles," she added. "But when I got on tour and when I realised I could do well in doubles... I wanted to. I mean, who wouldn't want to be No. 1 in anything?"

Gauff and Pegula, who reached the final at the French Open earlier this year, confirmed they would pair up for the rest of the season when possible. That includes later this month at the US Open, where they will be looking to become the first American team to win the women's doubles title since Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in 2011.

"But I don't want to put any pressure on ourselves. I think we play the best when we just take it one match at a time and one point at a time," said Gauff, who lost in the US Open final with Caty McNally last year.

However, her quarter-final singles loss at the hands of eventual champion Simona Halep in Toronto saw Gauff drop one spot from her career-high position of 11th.

REUTERS