Coco Gauff regards the Olympic Games as an important tournament as she prepares to make her bout in under three months.
The 20-year-old is currently in Rome, where she is taking part in the last WTA 1000 tournament before the French Open. This year, the Olympic tennis event will be held at Stade Roland Garros, the home of the clay Slam.
Some players don't have serious ambitions to play or win at the Olympics. French coach Patrick Mouratoglous caused quite a stir last year with his controversial claim that tennis has "no connection" with the Olympics.
But Gauff has a completely different view of the Olympics. During her Italian Open pre-tournament press conference, she told reporters that she holds the Olympics in equal measure to the Grand Slams and can't separate the two in terms of significance because she hasn't participated in the Games before.
"I mean, for me, the Olympics is a top priority. I would say equal to the Grand Slams. I wouldn't put it above or below just because I've never played before. This is my first time. Obviously, I always want to do well, try to get a medal."
Gauff was only 17 the last time she qualified to debut at the Olympic tennis tournament in Tokyo. But sadly, she was ruled out of the competition after testing positive for coronavirus. She became the first American to qualify for July's showpiece event.
Three years on, Gauff will enter the Paris Olympics Games as one of the favorites to walk away with a gold medal and potentially emulate her childhood idol, Serena Williams, who remains the last American to win a medal in singles.
"Yeah, I mean, but the prep is going to be interesting because I've never done the grass-to-clay transition before. Yeah, I'm not putting too much pressure on it because I really want to fully indulge in the experience. Hopefully I can have the experience multiple times in my lifetime. I'll treat it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
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