Coco Gauff has unfairly carried a large burden for much of her career, but she’s changing her approach now.
Gauff emerged as a teenager a few years ago, playing against one of the legends of the sport, Venus Williams, at Wimbledon. She shockingly beat her on July 1st and then went on to make the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships.
That essentially started a hype train that never died down, largely because Gauff kept improving. At times, the hype train went off the rails, invoking comparisons with Serena Williams, which she politely dismissed.
It created a large amount of pressure on Gauff that started to weigh her down a couple of years into her career. Now, aged 18, Gauff is still without a Grand Slam, even though she did make the final earlier this year at Roland Garros.
She also played in two Grand Slam finals in doubles, even though she didn’t win either of those. She was able to become doubles number one, which is a nice achievement to have on her resume, but overall, it hasn’t been what the hype train promised a couple of years ago.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Gauff spoke candidly about the earlier years of her career, admitting that, at times, she embraced the hype train because that’s what people wanted to hear.
"For a long time, I was stepping onto the court trying to be the next great American whatever, the next Serena. But that's not why I play tennis. I used to say I wanted to be the greatest because that's what people wanted to hear. Now I say it because it's what I want for myself."
These days, she’s mostly playing with a different mentality. The goals might be the same, but she’s approaching things in a different way than before.
"My goals are the same. But the mentality behind them is different. I want to enjoy the tough moments."