Coco Gauff, a persistant person on and off the court. She was born March 13, 2004, in Atlanta, Georgia. The 20-year-old athlete has won seven WTA tour singles’ titles and eight doubles’ titles. She is ranked world No. 3 in singles and number 1 in doubles by the Women’s Tennis Association.
Gauff earned an estimate $23 million in winnings this past year. This makes her the highest-paid female athlete in the world. In December of 2018, at the age of 14, Gauff became the youngest player over the course of 15 years to win the prestigious Orange Bowl, under-18, singles championship. With all Gauff has accomplished in her tennis career, she is transitioning to a new part of life. Time Magazine quotes Gauff, “At first I was scared to grow up, but now I’m embracing adulthood and womanhood.” Her goal now is to be more relaxed, have fun and dismiss all pressure.
At just the age of 19, Gauff won her first Grand Slam tennis tournament. She was the first American teenager to win the tennis tournament. She won at the same place she used to watch her idols play.At the end of the tournament she was in tears. She celebrated with her parents who were her biggest supporters through the whole journey.
In an interview with Essentially Sports, Gauff revealed that she wasn’t enjoying playing tennis after her first-round defeat at the 2023 Wimbledon Championship. “I felt a lot of expectations from other people and it felt like it took me a while to dig deep within myself and realize why I am not enjoying it so much…” It took Gauff a lot of self reflection to realize that she wasn’t playing for herself anymore, but for everyone else who had such high expectations for her.
When she finally became aware of the problem, her mindset changed. This brought her to the top echelons of the racket game. She went on to win her first WRA 1000 title and her first grand slam throughout that season.
Gauff is much happier now, knowing that she is playing for herself. She enjoys the game more than ever, and has fun doing it. She has a massive fan base that supports her through the good and bad, they keep her going. Gauff always keeps a positive mindset and shows great sportsmanship to her teammates and opponents around her. This new mindset has allowed her to return to the sport and stronger than she has ever been before.
