In finding the ideal mindset heading into the start of her defense of the US Open title she earned last year, Coco Gauff also broke the first rule of the internet.
Do not read the comments.
As fascinating and as powerful as her game is on the court, Gauff’s maturity beyond her years might be her biggest superpower, especially given the fact that, despite being just five months removed from still being a teenager, she has handled the weight of expectation heaped on her since 2017—when she became the youngest girls’ singles finalist in Flushing Meadows, aged 13—with wisdom and a sense of responsibility, and her Grand Slam dreams came true last September when her backhand winner on match point against Aryna Sabalenka sealed Coco’s maiden major trophy.
Even with everything she has experienced in her young career, however, the beginning of the 2024 US Open presents a brand new challenge for the Floridian: playing in a Grand Slam as a defending champion, and the inescapable tension that comes with that distinction.
But Gauff, as you would expect, found the right note to strike in dealing with those expectations, using last year’s run to the title in adopting a mantra she says she will carry going into the final Slam of the year.
“Obviously, coming in as defending champion is a little bit of pressure, but also more of a privilege, because my new motto is: ‘If you defend, that means you won something before,’” Gauff said at the beginning of her pre-tournament press conference on Friday.
Surprisingly, though, Gauff’s outlook only crystallized in her mind earlier this week. Somewhat more so is the source of those words of wisdom. A coach? Her parents? A mentor?
Try TikTok.
“Honestly, a couple days ago, somebody commented on my TikTok and the comment said … ‘You've won literally and figuratively. Why stress yourself out over a victory lap?’” Gauff said. “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. I'm just wanting to add to that, whether it happens here in two weeks or next year here or [in] Australia or whatever. There's no point [in stressing out].
“So I think I saw that comment three days ago, and I was, like, OK, I'm going to stick by that and use that, because it really changed my perspective coming into this.”
Those words came at the right time for Gauff, who, compared to last year’s scorching summer on the court, has struggled coming into this year’s US Open.
After losing in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon to fellow American Emma Navarro, Gauff has just one win on the WTA Tour level (excluding the Olympics) since SW19, losing to Diana Shnaider in her second match in Toronto and going down to Yulia Putintseva in her first match in Cincinnati. (Last summer, Gauff won the tournaments in Cincinnati and Washington, D.C. before her US Open success.) As a result, Gauff’s world ranking slid from No. 2 to No. 3.
The biggest downer for Gauff this summer happened across the Atlantic, where she invested so much in trying to come back to the States with a medal in Paris only to be eliminated before the medal round in all three disciplines she entered—including an emotional defeat in the third round against Croatia’s Donna Vekic, who ended up winning the silver.
While she lost those matches and, in turn, a chance to medal, Gauff, who was one of the two flagbearers for the United States during the opening ceremonies alongside LeBron James, also gained a lot more from the Olympic experience. Gauff took advantage of the opportunity to hang out with fellow Team USA members Gabby Thomas and Tara Davis-Woodhall—who both left Paris with gold medals in track and field—among others representing the red, white and blue, and those shared experiences of being top-level athletes performing on the biggest of stages were worth their weight in gold to the 20-year-old.
“I think that what you're feeling isn't so isolated, just being around elite athletes and what they do. The nerves, you realize nerves are normal, the pressures are all normal,” said Gauff, who was wearing a necklace bearing the Olympic rings in the press conference room. “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, and they're incredible people. I think I just learned the most that everything I feel, other athletes are feeling it in their sports, and they're obviously the undisputed best at what they've done, especially this past Olympics.”
Furthermore, the hype Gauff received before last year’s US Open, and then delivering the title many fans so desperately wanted to witness inside Arthur Ashe Stadium and beyond, isn’t much different than the buildup this year, she says.
“I feel like I was in a crazy position last year where there was a lot surrounding me, like, before this, even before I was a Grand Slam champion,” Gauff said. “I had basically the same busy pre-week this week as I had last year pre-week of the US Open. So I think that's where it was a little bit easier coming into all of this as a Grand Slam champion because of the gradual rise I've had in this sport when it came to the amount of attention I was getting.
“Honestly, this week hasn't been much different, other than people saying I'm the defending champion.”
All it took was one person on TikTok to remind her that that’s nothing to stress about, either.
