Coco Gauff won the 2024 China Open, but she said that she wasn’t crying after the win, even though it might have seemed like that.
The 20-year-old American star already has experience with some big victories in her tennis career. Most notably, she won the US Open last year, but she also lifted the Cincinnati Open trophy last year.
Funnily enough, it was Karolina Muchova, who she beat in the final of that WTA 1000 tournament, and she beat the Czech player in the final of another WTA 1000 event this year, this time in Beijing, but Gauff didn’t know what was her recipe for beating Muchova in those big matches.
“I don’t know. Every time I play her, it’s so hard. Honestly, when you’re on tour, you don’t really think about what you beat somebody, whatever. Last time I played her was a year ago. So much can change in a year.”
“I’ve learned that probably a lot more than probably most people. So yeah, honestly I wasn’t even thinking about that. My coaches told me, Yeah, don’t even think about the Cincinnati final or US Open, all of that. So I wasn’t even thinking about that.”
Along with the Cincinnati Open triumph, it was her second-biggest career victory, even though that would be something for Gauff to judge. The young player could argue that her win in Cincinnati was more significant since, at the time, it was the biggest title of her career.
On top of that, she won a Grand Slam doubles trophy this year, so it would be for her to assess how high this title ranks among her career victories. It would definitely be in the Top 5, and that’s why some thought that Gauff might have gotten emotional after the triumph.
She was really happy about the victory, but when asked whether she cried, as it seemed like she did at one point, the American player explained that she didn’t, even though she was very happy about the victory.
“Oh, no, I didn’t cry. It might be something in my eye. Trust me, I have cried after winning before. No, I didn’t cry today. Must have been something in my eye. But I am the first to admit when I cry. No, I don’t think I’ll cry. Today was just like, Yeah, it’s cool. It was not a crying day (smiling).”
The final at the China Open was probably the best match Gauff played at the tournament, and the reason for that was simple. She didn’t obsess over playing such a big match; she went into the final relaxed, and it proved to be a victorious approach.
“I was super relaxed going in. I was just like, I don’t know, this match is not going to change my life. When you go into matches like that, it’s super relaxed. I think also the experience of winning a 1000-level title in the past. Yeah, that tournament, it was great confidence. Again, it didn’t change my life.”
Up next, as she confirmed during the same press conference, Gauff will compete at the 2024 Wuhan Open. Her first opponent at the event will be the winner of the match between Ashlyn Krueger and Viktoriya Tomova.