In her return to the US Open, Gauff confirms she still draws motivation from her critics.
Coco Gauff admits she still reads comments online and uses critics as fuel but also reveals that she recently received something that changed her perspective for the better.
After Gauff fall into one of the lowest points of her career after 2023 Wimbledon, some started adding salt to the wound and claiming that the American tennis player was just “overhyped” and that she would never achieve what many tipped her to do. But Gauff saved all the receipts and made sure to let her doubters know she had the last laugh moments after her first Grand Slam win at last year’s US Open.
Now going into her US Open title defense, Gauff has had a bit of a rough period since she exited Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics in the round-of-16 while she also picked up very early exits in Toronto and Cincinnati. And the general belief was that the enormous pressure and expectations that the 20-year-old set on herself had a direct impact on those results.
“Honestly, like, a couple days ago somebody commented on my TikTok and the comment said, why stress yourself out over – it said, ‘you’ve won literally and figuratively. Why stress yourself out over a victory lap?’ I was, like, that’s actually a good perspective. No one can take that from me so why stress myself over something that I already have,” Gauff said in her pre-tournament presser at Flushing Meadows.
“I’m just wanting to add to that, whether it happens here in two weeks or next year here or at Australia or whatever, there’s no point. So I think I saw that comment, like, three days ago, and I was, like, okay, I’m going to stick by that and use that, because it really changed my perspective coming into this.”
Gauff warns her doubters: I still see you
After one of her wins at the 2023 US Open, Gauff revealed that she was saving some of the comments made about her and even said that she directly remembers what certain people were saying. And following a final win over Aryna Sabalenka that made the American a Slam champion at the age of 19, she cheekily thanked her doubters.
A year later, nothing has changed except that the top-ranked American female tennis player added that she can’t understand how some people can root for someone to fail.
“And, yeah, I still use the doubters as motivation. I know people have said things about me online and will continue to for the rest of my life, but I know it comes just out of a sense of, I don’t know, maybe hatred or jealousy, I don’t know. But for me, I never root on people’s downfalls,” Gauff added.
“Regardless of who you are, I’ll never root on somebody’s downfall. I’ll always root for success. I just wish the rest of the world or people were like that, which most of them are, but there’s always like the 2% that like to have their moment every now and then.”
Gauff has accepted that stress is the inevitable part of being a top player
In her opener in New York, Gauff will take on world No. 66 Varvara Gracheva. On paper, it doesn’t look like a huge matchup but it will be the first time that the 20-year-old will be opening a Major as the defending champion. And there will be lots of attention on the American tennis superstar since it is not a secret that home fans want to see lift back-to-back titles at Flushing Meadows.
“The nerves, you realize nerves are normal, the pressures are all normal. It doesn’t make them easier but I think it helps you know you’re not carrying the weight alone. I think I just learned that everything I feel, other athletes are feeling it in their sports, and they’re obviously undisputed best at what they’ve done, especially this past Olympics,” Gauff explained.
While there will be pressure on Gauff to deliver, she underlines that all of this is nothing new to her since she has been at the top of the game for several years now.
“I think all that time prepped me to better prepare for this moment so I wasn’t such a deer in headlights and everything wasn’t so crazy. So I think now, coming in, I’m going to enjoy it,” Gauff said.
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