Coco Gauff has long seemed like the star pupil who skipped a few grades.
From an early age, her elders identified her natural gifts and uncommon maturity and deemed her a student with unlimited potential. She was given specialized tutoring and pursued her goals with the older girls.
Coco applied herself diligently, and, as expected, excelled.
Gauff turned pro at just 14 years old. She's since been pushed and primed to take center stage in American women’s tennis, the new answer to sisters Venus and Serena Williams–both Coco’s idols growing up.
At 15 Gauff became the youngest player in Wimbledon’s history to qualify for the main draw–and promptly upset five-time Wimbledon champion Venus en route to the fourth round. Gauff won her first WTA title months later in Linz, Austria.
Sometimes, though, even star students can prep too hard and overstudy. Instead of being relaxed for the final exam, one can freeze and panic, focusing more on the pressure of getting a good grade than trusting one’s brain and knowledge.
In her first major final, the 2022 French Open, Gauff was schooled by Iga Swiatek, 6-1, 6-3. Gauff had entered the final without losing a set in her first six matches. But in the final, the American youngster produced 23 errors and Swiatek produced a masterclass.
Earlier this week in Flushing, Gauff reflected on that formative experience.
“I think I just didn't really believe that I had it in me,” she said. "This time around, I have been focusing more on myself and my expectations of myself. I really believe that now I have the maturity and ability to do it.”
Only weeks ago, though, the summer of 2023 looked to be a bummer. Gauff lost unexpectedly to the qualifier and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round at Wimbledon.
“After Wimbledon, I wasn't expecting to do well in this hard-court season,” she said. “I was really sort of thinking for off-season and preparing for next year.”
Gauff added an old hand to her team, Brad Gilbert–who insisted on passing on not just strategies and analytics but Dad-rock playlists made up of bands that no 19-year-old wants to hear–and she added a new focus and aggression to her game. The outstanding 5-foot-9 athlete could still rely on her lightning speed to play defense and retrieve, as well as her naturally big serve, but Gauff began looking to punch harder with her groundstrokes, especially her forehand.
The results came quickly.
Suddenly, Gauff suddenly began to ace all of her tests. She won the WTA 500 title in Washington, D.C., defeating three Top 20 players. She then won the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati, finally beating Swiatek in the semis–the American’s first victory in eight tries against the No. 1. After capturing the title in Flushing on Saturday, Gauff has now won her last dozen matches, and 18 of her last 19.
And now, to cap it all off, Gauff has the crowning achievement: the US Open championship. Her first major title.
Winning majors has been expected of Gauff ever since she burst on the scenes, of course. It is remarkable how she has dealt with the enormous and unfair expectations heaped on a child’s shoulders.
“I think people were putting a lot of pressure on me to win. I felt that at 15 I had to win a slam at 15,” Gauff said.
Yet she persisted.
Earlier this spring, Gauff admitted that she was occasionally afflicted with imposter syndrome, a perception that one is unworthy of her success.
“Imposter syndrome is a serious thing, so sometimes I feel it,” Gauff said in April. “But it's something I'm working on to understand that I'm here for a reason, that my ranking is here for a reason, and that I really deserve it.”
She returned to the subject this week in New York.
“It's still definitely a part of me but I do think I'm giving myself more credit,” she said. “And speaking things into existence is real. I've been trying to speak more positively of myself and actually telling myself that I'm a great player.”
In the early stages of the final on Saturday afternoon in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff seemed to be feeling the pressure. How could she not? But with the help of Aryna Sabalenka’s growing error count and a one-sided, boisterous home crowd, Gauff grew more comfortable. She visibly gained in confidence and she began to solicit crowd support as though it were a direct energy source.
Gauff’s shots grew in stature from listless to forceful, and her mighty wheels spun even faster around tennis’s biggest court. By the final set, Coco was soaring in confidence and in full flight.
Prior to playing the final, Gauff discussed the weight that comes with the territory of being labeled the Next Big Thing.
“I just learned how to cope with that better the more I have reached this level,” she continued. “You have some people who kind of already had to do it when they come on tour and some who need to learn.”
Gauff is obviously a dedicated learner. Home-schooled for 10 years, the world’s sixth-ranked player earned her high school diploma on time, while working a full-time job.
“I think it's just putting my life into perspective,” said Gauff. “I realize in a way it's pressure, but it's not. There are people struggling to feed their families, people who don't know where their next meal is going to come from, people who have to pay their bills.
“That's real pressure, that's real hardship, that's real life. I'm in a very privileged position. I'm getting paid to do what I love and getting support to do what I love. That's something that I don't take for granted.”
Before becoming the first American teenager to win the final in New York since Serena in 2001, Gauff’s previous biggest moment in the white-hot spotlight was her much-hyped 2019 US Open match versus Naomi Osaka. The pressure was crippling.
“Honestly, that whole match I didn't enjoy at all,” she said earlier this week. “I think now I'm having way more fun now than I was three years ago.”
After Gauff hoisted the silver trophy in Arthur Ashe Stadium, she explained her newly-gained perspective.
“I'm just feeling happiness and a very, very small bit of relief," she said. "Because honestly at this point, I was doing it for myself and not for other people. I know how to keep my peace but also embrace all of this around me.”
