COCO GAUFF: “I failed because I was trying to live up to the expectations of people for me and I dishonoured myself in the process.”

America’s young tennis star Coco Gauff has stated that her goal is to ‘enjoy’ rather than putting pressure to achieve more success. The 20-year-ols already regarded as one of the best player currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category along with the likes of Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka.

Gauff is now set to take part in the Cincinnati Open where she will be defending her crown. She lifted the title last year after beating Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4. Talking ahead of the competition, the Atlanta-born star expressed excitement to take part in an event where she has already done well. “I’m really excited to be back here in Cincinnati,” she said. “I have a lot of great memories and great crowd support here. When you come back to a place where you’ve had success, you kind of feel like you’re finding yourself again. But I try not to look in the past. I want to continue to move forward.”

Gauff further went on to talk about how her goals have evolved in the recent past. The current world number two in women’s tennis stated that not only she is already ‘proud’ of what she has achieved in her young career but that she is now more focused towards ‘enjoying’ the sport rather than putting pressure to succeed at any cost. Gauff was also of the opinion that in her point of view, she has at least 10 years to play at the highest level and therefore, she is trying to avoid unnecessary pressure.

“One thing I’ve learned is that I’ve had a lot of success so far in my career,” she said. “I always put the pressure on myself to do more, but sometimes it’s just good to say you did well. I think I’m trying to take a step back and just enjoy what I’ve done so far and use that experience to push me forward. I’m 20, I have a long way to go. Most of my competitors in the Top 10 are 24 and older, other than Iga [Swiatek, who is 23]. I have time. I want to win now, because I’m used to winning so early, but I think I can take a step back and realize I have at least 10 more years in this sport. I want to enjoy it.”