“It took me a week”: Coco Gauff opens up about how long it took her to realise first Grand Slam triumph last year

America’s young tennis star Coco Gauff has opened up about how long it took her to finally realise that she won an actual Grand Slam after winning the US Open last year. The 20-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category.

Gauff won his first and, till now, the only Grand Slam title last year after beating Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in the final with a score of 2–6, 6–3, 6–2. The Atlanta-born star has recently been featured in a video on the social media platform Instagram, where she opened up about how she felt after winning the title. Gauff went on to explain that it took her a week to start believing that she had actually won a major title in her career, something she wanted to achieve since her childhood.

“I won the US Open and I still just didn’t feel it,” she said. “It took me a week to actually believe that it had happened. I had found myself like crying or sometimes, not like sadness but like disbelief. I wanted to win a Grand Slam as a teenager so I felt that the clock was just ticking. Yeah I just didn’t expect it. Every tennis player’s dream is to win a Grand Slam so everybody is just giving it there all and I will let you know, when I win a next one, how it goes.”

Gauff will be looking to defend her crown in the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year which will begin in less than two weeks’ time. The current world number two is currently taking part in the Cincinnati Open, where she will face Yulia Putintseva in the round of 32 on Thursday. It will be the fourth meeting between the two players at the highest level. In the previous three meetings, Gauff had a clear edge as she won on all three occasions.