She grew up in Southern California, won the U.S. Open junior title at 16 and made her World TeamTennis debut with the Capitals the following year.
She's tall, has an impressive athletic pedigree and is coached by Robert Van't Hof and Adam Peterson.
In many ways, CoCo Vandeweghe is reminiscent of Lindsay Davenport.
"To be compared to a former No. 1 and a multiple Grand Slam (tournament) winner is definitely a great honor," Vandeweghe said. "She's been a great asset to me. She hooked me up with her old coaches."
Vandeweghe, 6-foot-1, was born in New York but moved to San Diego at age 7. She took the U.S. Open junior crown last September and launched her WTT career this month.
Davenport, a 6-2 native of Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles area, won the 1992 U.S. Open juniors and was named the WTT Female Rookie of the Year with the Capitals in 1993.
Vandeweghe's mother, Tauna, won Olympic silver medals in swimming (1976) and volleyball (1984); her uncle, Kiki, is the general manager of the New Jersey Nets and a former NBA star; and her grandfather, Ernie, played for the New York Knicks in the 1950s.
Davenport's father, Wink, played volleyball in the 1968 Olympics.
Vandeweghe hopes she'll eventually share another distinction with Davenport: the No. 1 world ranking.
Capitals fans who have watched Vandeweghe struggle with double faults and unforced errors this season might scoff at the notion. But another 6-1 player, Venus Williams, had a similar problem early in her career. And Vandweghe didn't start playing tennis seriously until she was 11, twice as old as most pros.
Vandeweghe first gained wide exposure last year as a wild card in the main draw of the U.S. Open. On national television at night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, she impressed No. 2 seed and eventual runner-up Jelena Jankovic with her power before falling 6-3, 6-1.
The following week, Vandeweghe breezed through six matches without dropping a set to become the first American in 13 years to win the U.S. Open junior girls title.
Last March, Vandeweghe and Petra Martic, 18, of Croatia stunned fifth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama in the first round in Miami.
"CoCo has a lot of weapons," said Van't Hof, who was the WTT Male MVP with the Capitals 20 years ago. "She hits the ball very hard and clean. Unfortunately, it doesn't always go in. If she keeps playing and the ball starts to go in, she'll overpower a lot of people. She has a lot of upside."
Tauna said she exposed her daughter "to every sport to find out what she was good at." CoCo, whose given name is Colleen, eventually had to choose between basketball and tennis.
"I started missing basketball practices for tennis practice in elementary school," she said. "Girls wouldn't pass me the ball because I wouldn't show up for practice. I said, 'Forget it.' I didn't want to play a team sport."
Vandeweghe admits she feels the need to make up for lost time.
"I'm playing girls older than me, so I'm playing catch-up in two areas, which can be tough," said Vandeweghe, who will be a senior at The Grauer School in Encinitas in the fall. "I miss home when I'm traveling. It's a weird experience for me. I've never really traveled."
Vandeweghe knows where she wants to go, though. To the top, like Davenport.
Call The Bee's Paul Bauman, (916) 326-5515.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.