Coco Gauff has finally arrived at the tournament that she has been waiting for in the last few months. The 20-year-old American tennis star has struggled a bit with her consistency in the last few tournaments. So, she’ll be keen to turn things back on track at the 2024 US Open. The defending champ starts her campaign on Monday, August 26. Gauff has been handed a tricky draw as she will take on Varvara Gracheva in the first round. This French tennis star has an interesting story in her life. Do you know Gracheva used to represent Russia before switching to France in the last year?

Varvara Gracheva was born in Moscow in 2000. However, she moved to France at the age of 16 to train at the Elite Tennis Centre, in Cannes. This 24-year-old tennis player had the chance to train alongside several tennis stars, like Daniil Medvedev. She has now become a promising player on the women’s tour, but who was the first person to introduce Gracheva to the racquet sport?

Well, according to multiple sources, her mother, Natalia Kazakova introduced her to the sport. She even coached her until the age of 14 near Zhukovsky. Later on, Gracheva was forced to look abroad for better training facilities. She moved to Germany to train under Nina Bratchikova before joining the ETC Academy in France in 2016. In the ETC Academy, she trained with Gerard Solves and her current coach, Xavier Pujo. After having lived in France for quite a few years, she applied for French naturalization in March 2023. Her request was accepted in May 2023. 

Gracheva started representing France in the 2023 Bad Homburg Open. She played her first pro event in 2017. In 2019, she made a rapid shift in her career as she made her debut in the Top 125. She won a $25K event in Chiasso and made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the 2020 US Open. She took down Paula Badosa in straight sets, which was one of the biggest victories in her career.

So far, her best record at the US Open has been reaching the third round in 2020 and 2021. Gracheva reached her highest career ranking (39) in January 2024, and currently, she’s ranked 66th in the world. Coco Gauff has met her only once in her career, in this year’s QF of the ASB Classic.

The American won that match quite comprehensively that time. What will happen this time around? Gauff said coming in as defending champion is always a “little bit of pressure” but also it comes up with a bit of “privilege.” She doesn’t want to stress herself too much over a “victory lap.” This match will show two stars trading blows. Who will Gracheva take inspiration from to attempt to win against Gauff?

Coco Gauff’s R1 opponent at the 2024 US Open has a tennis idol?

During an interview, Varvara Gracheva was asked to name the person who inspires her the most from the tennis world. In reply, she said that she respects all the players and she thinks everyone does a tremendous job. Gracheva admitted that she never looked up to anyone. However, she also revealed, “If there is someone who should be admired, it’s definitely Nadal. He remains such a simple person, even with such an incredible amount of Grand Slams won. I did not communicate with him, but I saw how he behaves on court and in life.”

She said her coach had once got the chance to meet Rafael Nadal. Gracheva admires the ‘King of Clay’ but apart from that she said her mom inspires her the most. For those who are unaware, Gracheva even has a brother, but does he play tennis as well? Well, she once gave the answer to this question as well, “I have a younger brother, but he does not play tennis (laughs).“

Apart from tennis, Coco Gauff’s R1 opponent has a hobby of drawing and she is also an animal lover. She has two dogs named Tutsi and Yen in her home, Gracheva also has a parrot named, Boy. She loves rock music and is inspired by the Skillet. Her favorite food is pasta and her favorite picture is ‘Self-portrait with a cut-off ear’ (by Van Gogh). Do you think this promising youngster can come up with a real challenge against Gauff in the first round?