'Pressure Is Off' During 'Bonus Matches' In Beijing For US Open Champion Gauff
WTA
Coco Gauff isn't feeling any pressure while at the 2023 China Open in Beijing as she already achieved all her bigger goals for this year.
Some of those goals for Gauff were winning a Grand Slam trophy and securing a spot at the ATP Finals. Both were basically ensured at the US Open as she bested Aryna Sabalenka in the final to lift her maiden Grand Slam trophy while also earning 2000 points, which secured her spot at the WTA Finals in Cancun.
She skipped the Guadalajara WTA 1000 tournament, precisely because she didn't need to play it but opted to return to China to get some prep time for the WTA Finals. Despite some minor hiccups, the week in Beijing has largely been okay, as she won a couple of good matches against solid players like Veronika Kudermetova and Maria Sakkari.
She's simply enjoying time on the court because there is basically no pressure on her. There is nothing she needs to achieve further and this is just about finetuning her play for the WTA Finals later this month.
In the long run ... I feel like now that the pressure is off, now that the Grand Slam season is over and I'm qualified, I think this could be a good week to continue to work on things I need to work on. Today I think I approached the match like that. I wish I did it earlier.
It's a very healthy perspective to have for Gauff, especially since there are some things like the forehand that need work. There has been some chatter that she might abandon reworking the shot because it's been working well enough recently.
Despite having glaring issues there, she's been the best player in the world in the past few weeks. We'll see what happens, but for now, a match against Iga Swiatek is her main priority.
