Second seed Coco Gauff recently opened up about the challenging period she faced after her first-round exit from Wimbledon last year. The 20-year-old tennis star revealed that the setback put her career into perspective, helping her turn her form around. Since then, Gauff has won the US Open and reached the semifinals of both the Australian Open and the French Open.
“I wish a year ago, me after that match could see me now,” Gauff shared with reporters. “That was a tough moment for me. I think the first two, three weeks after that, I was really in a dark place. It was tough for me to realise I have so much time. When that happens you just feel the weight of everything on you. I think I had high expectations at that age. I still do.”
Despite her past struggles, Gauff feels no added pressure as she prepares to face fellow American Caroline Dolehide in the first round on Monday. “With Wimbledon, I’m really relaxed going into this year. I didn’t have a great Wimbledon last year. It’s like it couldn’t get any worse, it can only get better or the same,” she said.
Gauff, currently ranked world number two, also mentioned that it didn’t matter to her that top seed Iga Swiatek, who has defeated her in 11 of their 12 matches, was placed on the other side of the draw. “It gives you confidence obviously when you see that the field isn’t stacked… in the way where there’s one player dominating or three players dominating. I think everybody has an equal shot and it’s just about who can perform better that week.”
As she steps onto the Wimbledon courts this year, Gauff carries with her the lessons learned from past hardships and a renewed sense of determination.
Coco Gauff in 2024
Currently the world no.2 (career-high), Gauff played her last match on the 23rd of June when she was overcome by world no.5 Jessica Pegula 7-5 7-6(2) in the semifinal in Berlin (draw).
At present, during this year Coco has managed to achieve a composed 32-10 match record. Coco clinched 1 title in Auckland.
Coco Gauff will take on the world no.52 Caroline Dolehide in the 1st round on Monday at 6:30 pm on Centre Court. Their head to head is 2-0 for Gauff.
The American conquered 1 title in 2024 in Auckland.
Gauff won 7 titles in her career: 5 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Coco Gauff |
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