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Doha
It’s been a kind of a see-saw start of 2023 for Coco Gauff so far. She won a singles trophy in Auckland (for the first time since 2021), and teamed with fellow American Jessica Pegula to excel in doubles, the 18-year-old broke down in tears after her straight sets defeat in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The teenager, who turned pro five years ago and since has held has a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in singles and world No. 1 in doubles (both attained in 2022), appears to be at a crossroads with expectations, talent and growth. Now in Doha to battle against champion players in the WTA 500 tournament, Gauff opened up to a volley of questions at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on Monday.
Excerpts
If you go back to your first final in a Grand Slam at Roland Garros. Does it change something for you? Did you feel that it felt something for other players the way they could see you maybe?
I mean, for sure reaching a final changes some things, but I don’t know if it changes everything. People care more about the winning, and I didn’t do that. So I don’t think it really changed much on the outside but for sure in the way I see myself on the game.
You are so young but do you feel like a mature player. How do you explain that? Maybe because tennis is not the whole part of your life?
I don’t know. I think that’s just my personality in general. I’m the oldest of three siblings. Maybe that has something to play with it. I don’t know. I feel like I have learned a lot quickly. I don’t know really.
Can you talk to us about the days after the Australian Open, how you handled the defeat?
I just went home and enjoyed my time home and really got ready to come here. So, yeah.
You’re just 18 but you come across as someone who thinks really clearly. You’re very articulate. Can you talk a little about that?
I don’t know. I feel like on the outside, yeah. Maybe on the inside it’s probably not as calm and controlled as it may seem. But I think I have had a lot of life experiences early on and learned a lot early on. I don’t know. I feel like I always know what I need to do and what I should do. Now it’s all about doing it, which that’s the difficult part which I feel like everybody knows that.
But, yeah, I think it comes from the way my parents are, but I think I have also learned a lot over the years. I feel like that’s why maybe I have matured faster than most.
Can you elaborate a bit on the life experiences?
I think just dealing with everything. You know, always at a young age I was always the best of my age group or top of my age group, and that comes with a lot of pressure, so pressure is something I have dealt with my whole life. It’s something that maybe I’m not used to, because you don’t get used to it, but it’s something that you learn to deal better and better. The more you experience early on, the more you’re able to kind of combat those feelings and understand it early on.
You just talked about that you’re well experienced already, and of course you have extra experience of reaching final in Roland Garros. What do you think is the last piece, last key to get through the last step, winning a Grand Slam?
I think just how I approach the game tactically. I think mentally I’m approaching it in a somewhat good way. There is always improvements that need to be made, but it’s one of those questions that I won’t have the answer for until I get to that step and until I complete that step. I mean, I think I know that I need to fix things tactically, but, you know, I feel like reaching a Grand Slam final and winning it is something that you really don’t know how it’s going to feel until you actually do it. So we’ll see if I can do it, and maybe I’ll answer your question better then.
In Australia you spoke about your offense and defense and how the defense was almost second nature and you were learning to attack a lot more. I was just wondering if that’s really the key to the next step that you were just talking about?
If you look at the semifinalists in Australia, pretty much all of them are known as offensive players. That’s something that I need to get better at. I wouldn’t say I’m completely a defensive player. I can hit big shots, but I think it’s something I need to do more often. That’s what I’m working on and doing it at the right moments, as well. Not that I need to be stepping inside the court and being a big hitter, because I feel like I have the physicality to play more of an all-around game. So I think I don’t need to swing for the fences, but also think I need to be more offensive. That’s something I’m working on and trying to do and doing it at the right moments. I feel like I’m strong enough to do it whenever I want, but you can’t really hit the ball that hard when you’re not in the right position. So I think it’s all about finding the right position and learning when to attack and when not to attack.
Do you have any goals for this year?
The biggest goal is to win a Grand Slam obviously. I think that’s the goal for pretty much every player, I feel like, especially in the top 10. After that I want to win more titles, especially at the 500 and 1000 level. I haven’t done that yet. So that’s the biggest goal, I would say, other than the Grand Slam is trying to do better at these events, 500 and 1000 events, and beating top players in these events. So yeah.
