While last summer was a dream summer for Coco Gauff, this one has been quite the opposite. However, she's at peace with it.
Gauff is a super-talented tennis player who can achieve great things. Last summer showed just what she's capable of, and she wasn’t even playing her best tennis. It was a great version of Gauff, but most would agree that she has a level above that.
Still, she won the Citi Open in Washington, which is a WTA 500 event, the Cincinnati Open, a WTA 1000 tournament, and the US Open, which was an incredible run and much needed for a player who, a month earlier, looked completely lost.
While she was able to turn things around last year, this year hasn't been as good for the American. She disappointed at the Canadian Open, the Cincinnati Open, and now the US Open, failing to defend the trophy in New York.
While it’s obviously a setback and not what she wanted, the American tried to keep things in perspective, which is a decent way of dealing with it. She tried to look at the bright side of everything that she experienced this summer because there were still some great moments for her.
"I guess for me, yeah, it's not the summer that I want. I feel like there's, like, 70 other players in the draw that would love to have the summer that I had even though [my results dipped] during this time of the year."
"So many people want to be in the fourth round. So many people want to make the Olympics. So many people want to be flag bearer. It's perspective."
While all of those achievements are impressive in isolation, they’re not really what Gauff is looking for. Keeping perspective and being mindful of everything she has achieved is a great way to manage pressure and expectations, but overall, it was still a disappointment, given what she’s capable of.
The American recognized that in her post-match press conference but still chose to focus on the positives. What happened, happened, and she’s not going to beat herself up about it, which is, again, a good way of handling disappointment.
"Obviously, because I'm wanting to reach a different level it is disappointing, but I'm not going to beat myself up and be, like, this was so bad. Yeah, I expect better, but at the end of the day it happened, and I know I can turn it around."
As a professional athlete, Gauff is well aware that she can never truly take days off because the sport doesn’t wait for anyone. To be competitive, she must work hard and keep pushing until she reaches her goals.
She’s committed to doing just that, but it’s essential to remain positive because excessive negativity doesn’t help. It’s a disappointment, but the greatest champions are those who get up when they’re knocked down, just as she did last year.
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