'I'm In A Rebuilding Period': Gauff Accepts Flaws In Her Game

| by Nurein Ahmed

Coco Gauff gave a nonchalant answer in response to a question regarding her overall mindset about changes and rebuilding her own game.

The young American phenom has struggled to impose herself on the WTA Tour, and criticism has been harshly amplified. First, Gauff's serve looked like the weaker part of her arsenal, but now her forehand looks like it needs significant changes.

Gauff is taking the necessary steps to address the longstanding drawbacks which are prevalent in her game. She has started working with celebrated tennis figure Brad Gilbert, the former coach of Andre Agassi, at this week's Citi Open in Washington.

Gilbert's work as Gauff said in her presser is to help her overcome the mental hurdles in pressure moments. Her forehand will need a massive overhaul during the off-season. For now, though, Gauff believes she is in the rebuilding phase in her career and her own game, both literally and figuratively, referencing the situation to that of building a house.

Gauff Reveals How She 'Stays Grounded' Despite Fame From Young Age
Gauff Reveals How She 'Stays Grounded' Despite Fame From Young Age

"Yeah, I definitely do feel like I'm in a rebuilding period. I'm trying to hit the next gear of my game. I feel like I have the foundation in my game. Now it's building around that, it's building the house, I guess, essentially. I have the land and I need to build the house on top of it, make it as extravagant and big and pretty as possible.

Gauff, later on, added that she is not changing the way in which she plays the sport. Being a perfectionist is something Gauff has always championed within herself, but over the years, she learned to accept and embrace her own flaws in her game.

"Yeah, I am trying to be more positive of myself and accept that I'm learning, not a different way to play, but I'm learning to enhance the way I play. So I'm trying to make sure my first instincts are always the right decision, whether I make the ball or not."

"I'm trying to be more gracious when it comes to misses and mistakes even if it's the right decision. It's something that doesn't come easy to me naturally because I am a bit of a perfectionist. So I'm trying to accept the flaws because it's impossible to be perfect."

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