CATY McNALLY FALLS to the ground, her palms covering her face as tears pour out of her eyes. Her chest heaves as she gingerly stands back up, and looks at her brother, John, who once was part of a sparse crowd but is now surrounded by cheering fans. He is crying, too.
McNally’s opponent, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, runs over to McNally’s side of the court and hugs her. Still crying, McNally limps her way to her brother, and hugs him tight. The time on the court has finally stopped ticking: The clock reads 3 hours and 6 minutes.
It is the first round of the Western & Southern Open in McNally’s hometown of Cincinnati, and McNally’s hard-fought victory over the No. 36 player in the world earlier this month is the most important win of her season to date.
After signing a few balls, McNally is escorted back to the players’ lounge — a brisk walk to the opposite end of the grounds. She enters through a side door, and it’s like the opening act giving way to the headliner. The front door swings open and out comes Coco Gauff, who is instantly swarmed by fans. Kids as young as 5 years old and fans old enough to be Gauff’s grandparents mumble “Excuse me” to get a better look at the French Open singles and doubles runner-up, the future of tennis.
Gauff signs balls and posters and notebooks, twirling for photos and grinning with delight.
A year ago, magic materialized when McNally and Gauff shared space and time at the US Open as doubles partners. Dubbed “McCoco,” they ventured all the way to the final of the women’s doubles draw before falling to Samantha Stosur and Shuai Zhang.
The young Americans drew the kind of attention to doubles that Serena and Venus once did. They received primetime coverage and played in front of adoring fans on packed courts. Their easy friendship off the court and their complementary games on the court made them a major attraction for fans and an unwelcome sight for opponents.
Their enthusiastic leaping chest bumps became an iconic image of the tournament.
But since last playing with each other in March in Miami, Gauff, 18, and McNally, 20, have gone their separate ways. Like Gauff, McNally never set out to be typecast as a sidekick. She had turned pro in 2019, and it was time to focus on boosting her singles ranking. So she headed to the sport’s outposts to play in lower-level tournaments.
“I don’t see why I can’t be in the Top 10 in the next five years,” McNally tells ESPN in Cincinnati. “I am growing, I am learning a lot about myself and…
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