Coco Gauff became a Grand Slam champion last year, and history has taught us that some players lose motivation after that.
Gauff has been a highly motivated individual for much of her career. There is not a lot of worry about her losing motivation, but it's been well-documented that a lot of tennis players struggle to win their second Grand Slam soon after winning their first one.
For some, it's a lack of motivation; for some, the added pressure gets to them, but Gauff isn't afraid of any of that. She's not lacking any motivation because her goals have always been pretty big, and that hasn't changed since her US Open triumph a few months ago.
Currently, the teenager competes at the 2024 ASB Classic, and during her stay in Auckland, she talked about the motivation to win her second Grand Slam title.
Ever since I was a kid I always had big goals for my career. Winning a Slam gave me reassurance that I could reach those goals. I don't think my motivation has stopped in any way. I probably feel even more motivated because the feeling I had at match point was a crazy feeling.
Gauff prepared really well for this upcoming season because she started her offseason early. It's a bit different because you're not actively playing against any players.
Most of the time, she plays against guys, which is a bit different. The goal is simple - to get better. Ultimately, it comes down to playing tennis, and that's what she did, so now it's about putting it into practice. All for that second Grand Slam. It's been going well so far.
Preseasons are unique because you're really not playing any girls until the end. So it's tough to gauge your performance when you're playing with a bunch of guys. But for the most part, being a Grand Slam champion didn't change the way that I trained. I'm still training just as hard as when I was chasing my first Grand Slam. Now I'm chasing my second one.
0 Comments