1994 was a profoundly important year for Coco Gauff. It is an odd claim to stake for a player that wasn’t born until 2004. The events that unfolded in Women’s professional tennis in 1994 triggered a cavalcade of commissions and panels to study the long term effects on the lives of girls who played on the professional tennis tour while still in their early teens.
The current age eligibility restrictions can be traced back very directly to events that transpired in 1994. Usually I sum up the changes in two words: Jennifer Capriati. However, there were other less dramatic situations. Three posts detailed the absolute insanity of WTA tennis in 1994.
- The Crazy Summer of 1994 Part 1: The Players, March 8, 2020.
- The Crazy Summer of 1994 Part 2: The WTA, March 9, 2020.
- WTA Player Age Eligibility Rules Genesis: Summer of 1994, March 10, 2020.
The final post in that series detailed the age eligibility restrictions that are currently in place on the WTA tour. As Coco Gauff has made her professional breakout, many fans and commentators bemoan the restrictions on the number of events that she can play.
Ultimately COVID has effectively forestalled much of the discussion on the appropriate number of tournaments that Coco can play. So many events have been cancelled that participation is greatly curtailed for all players. At the same time, this is one of those cases where the history needs to be remembered. The age eligibility restrictions were put into place for good reason.
I regard those series of posts as some of the best content on Fiend at Court in 2020. It simultaneously explained a tennis rule, provided a history lesson, and bridged into a topic currently being discussed and debated in tennis. As I reflect back on the 2020 Fiend at Court, this series was an inflection point for shaping and expanding the scope of future content. It was the springboard for veering off in many new directions.
