Coco Gauff discussed how she takes defeats hard in singles and doubles after losing her opening singles match at the WTA Finals.
Gauff is playing in the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time. The 18-year-old became the youngest player to qualify for the event since Maria Sharapova won the 2004 iteration as a 17-year-old.
This year's French Open runner-up also qualified for the doubles at the WTA Finals with Jessica Pegula. The pair's achievements this season, including winning the Canadian Open title, saw Gauff become the world's No. 1 doubles player.
Gauff also has to deal with the pressure of being a home player since the WTA Finals are being held in Fort Worth, Texas. This year, a new destination had to be found because tournaments in China were canceled.
The teenager might have fancied her chances against Caroline Garcia since the Frenchwoman's coach, Bertrand Perret, suddenly left her team just a few days before the prestigious event began.
However, Garcia performed excellently to beat Gauff in her opening match in straight sets. The young star could not cope with Garcia's power and aggression throughout the contest.
Speaking after the match, Gauff admitted she finds losing hard, but she has gained some experience of being defeated in singles and needing to respond quickly in doubles.
"It's something I've learned to bounce back. Mainly because of doubles, a lot of times you’re playing matches after you’ve lost or won, or vice versa, you lose a doubles match and the next day you have to play singles. Whether it’s singles or doubles, I take the losses pretty hard."
“So I would say I think I have a little bit more experience from it because of doubles. I don’t know how I’ll be, first time losing a singles match and having to play again two days later, or the same tournament. But I think I’m pretty positive from this, it’s the only way I can take it if I want to do well in the next two.”