Coco Gauff: How putting her life ‘in perspective’ helped the tennis star deal with the pressure during her US Open run

CNN
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Coco Jouf She was cruel and completely dominant in it US Open Quarter-finals vs Yelena Ostapenkolosing only two games in a match that could have really upset the young American.

It was expected that Ostapenko, despite her lack of consistency in performance, would raise serious questions about Gauff’s qualifications to win the title after a wonderful career in New York, but she easily lost 6-0 and 6-2 in just over an hour.

Gauff has once again taken her game to a higher level this season – especially during the second half of the year – as the 19-year-old continues her rise to tennis stardom.

These improvements were on full display against Ostapenko, as Gauff stifled her opponent’s power with powerful groundstrokes and, most importantly, a level of accuracy and consistency that the Latvian player was unable to find.

Gauff’s improvement in fitness was evident for all to see at Flushing Meadows, but the world number six gave an insight into the process of building the mental toughness needed to make deep runs at Grand Slams.

“I think it’s unique to each person,” she told reporters. “It comes with trial and error. What I’ve learned about myself is that in these moments, I shouldn’t put too much pressure on these matches because when you play these tournaments, the pressure is always there.

“They’re so tough and you always want to win. I’ve just learned how to deal with that better the more you get to that level. You have some people who already do it when they come on tour and others who need to learn.”

“I think that’s just part of life and part of learning. That’s why sometimes someone gets a great result, like when they come out of the gates, and then it’s hard to back it up because you’ve never been in that situation before.”

“The more you get into that situation, the more you can learn how to deal with it.”

This pressure will intensify even more when Gauff faces Karolina Muchova in the semifinals of the US Open on Thursday.

The spotlight is never brighter for a player than when he is playing in a grand slam on home soil, but Gauff approached the occasion with a maturity that belied her years, not once showing that she was struggling under the weight of expectations.

However, the teenager admits that this was not always the case and being able to deal with pressure as she does now was a process that took time.

Goff said one of the things that helped her most through the process was putting her life “in perspective” when she started to feel overwhelmed.

“At first, I was thinking negative things,” she recalls. “Like why is there so much pressure? Why is this so hard? Etc. etc. etc. I somehow realize it’s stress but it’s not. I mean there are people struggling to feed their families, people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, people who have to pay their bills.”

“This is real pressure, this is real hardship, this is real life. I’m in a very privileged position, I get paid to do what I love and I get support to do what I love. And that’s something I don’t take for granted.”

“It put my life into perspective, especially in New York,” Goff added. “I feel like you see that perspective a lot more, especially compared to where I live.” “I have a lucky life and so I have to enjoy it.

“I know there are millions of people who probably want to be in the position I’m in, so instead of saying, ‘Why this, why this?’ I should just say, ‘Why not me?’ Why shouldn’t I enjoy this? I should that.”

Gauff said she now “enjoys a lot” playing tennis, and that enjoyment is evident when she takes to the court. “I just said to myself, ‘Man, I have to have fun with this,'” she explained.

This enjoyment extends to her interviews and press conferences as well, as Gauff is friendly, authentic and fun, traits that make her increasingly popular not only with American fans, but also with fans around the world.

Goff said it helps to “not think about the consequences” and instead just focus on having fun.

“I live a lucky life and I’m very lucky. I don’t want to take it for granted,” she said. “So for that reason, I think it’s just putting my life in perspective and realizing how grateful and blessed I am.”