Roger Federer has urged the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) to relax their age eligibility rules to accommodate the staggering progress of 15 year old American Cori Gauff.

As it stands, the WTA limits the number of tournaments youngsters can play as a way of protecting them from burnout. The restrictions were first put in place in 1994 following the travails of prodigies like Jennifer Capriati, who barely played in her late teens having made her professional debut as a 13 year old.

Gauff's poise and staggering shot-making in taking out Venus Williams and Magdalena Rybarikova this week at Wimbledon, however, have prompted Federer to state publicly that the rules should be relaxed - which he insisted was not because the youngster is part of his Team8 management company.

"I understand the rule completely that they want the young players not to play too much," he said after his straight-sets win over Britain's Jay Clarke. "I've told the WTA they should loosen up the rules. I loved seeing [Martina] Hingis doing what she did at a young age."

As it happens the WTA have already relaxed their rules, by allowing Gauff to play 12 tournaments rather than the usual 10 for 15 year olds - in recognition of her exceptional performances in the junior events. They could also grant her two additional events on top of the remaining five she is currently allocated before her 16th birthday in March.