Gauff Reveals How 'Flop Era' Comments Motivated Her To Succeed At WTA Finals

Tuesday, 12 November 2024 at 01:20

byErik Virostko

Coco Gauff might be one of the most successful teenagers in the history of tennis, but that still doesn't protect her from harsh comments and criticism.

Gauff emerged as a 15-year-old at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. A player so young and so successful, it wasn't surprising that the expectations immediately skyrocketed.

The American player received multiple nicknames and was predicted to reach the highest heights on the WTA Tour. Among all, the 'Next Serena' nickname was the most popular one.

With the 23-time Grand Slam champion closing in on retirement at the time, fans were eager to see another player follow her legacy, and with her early breakthrough, Gauff seemed like a perfect adept.

Five years later, the 20-year-old is a singles Grand Slam champion, a two-time WTA 1000 titlist, a WTA Finals champion, a former doubles World No. 1, a doubles Grand Slam champion, and she has a career-high World No. 2 ranking in singles.

She has been incredibly successful, and yet some of the fans envisioned her being even more successful. That's why Gauff is often a target of harsh comments and criticism, which she notices due to her frequent presence on social media.

Most recently, Gauff won the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh, beating Qinwen Zheng in the title, and once again, she used it as a powerful message to her haters and critics.

She is just the type of person who likes to prove others wrong, and she admitted it also in an interview with WTA Insider after her triumph, saying she first noticed the 'Gauff's Slump Summer' comments during a Tennis Channel broadcast and later also saw 'Flop era' comments about her 2024 season, both of which motivated her.

"I remember after my loss in Cincinnati, they have the TV on Tennis Channel in the locker room. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the headline was like 'Gauff's Slump Summer' or something like that. I looked at that and I was just like, 'Dang, I have to turn it around somehow.'"

"And then I lost a pretty tough match against Emma [Navarro] at US Open. A lot of people were critiquing my season, you know, 'Flop era.' I know all the Twitter terms. I think for me it was just motivation. I'm the author of my own story, and I'm not going to let anybody write me off."

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Despite being aware of all of these comments, Gauff admitted that she doesn't talk about them to anyone. Sometimes, she mentions them to her boyfriend, but they don't really discuss them in depth.

"I don't really talk to my team or anybody. Sometimes my boyfriend, but not to a deep extent. I do journal a lot, and I think it's just a lot of self-reflection and self-awareness."

Gauff also admitted that she uses the help of a therapist but often talks to her parents about her career, even though not necessarily about the comments made about her on social media.

"I do have a therapist. I haven't gone in a while, but I do that. I try to go once every two weeks, schedule permitting. I think a combination of her, myself and obviously my parents."

"My dad is pretty petty like me. I'm pretty sure the first thing he's going to say when I call him is something about what people were saying about me."