Coco Gauff's journey from Wimbledon exit to summer triumph: Eyeing her first grand slam victory
The 19-year-old used a first-round exit at Wimbledon to alter her approach, capturing two titles in three events this summer. Can she win her first Grand Slam title? Find out why she thinks there are lots of similarities between her and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
Tennis
It’s only a few minutes after American tennis player Coco Gauff has won the biggest title of her young career, a WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
A group of young kids wait to meet with her, part of a local hospital’s organised trip to the event. The youngsters’ eyes grow wide as Gauff, still only 19, strides into the room. But before she can greet them, she’s handed her winner’s trophy by tournament officials and makes her way onto a stadium balcony, where a couple hundred fans let out a roar of a cheer as she displays her new hardware to them.
“It’s crazy,” a breathless Gauff said after her hoist. “I never thought a few weeks ago [after Wimbledon] that I would be able to be here, but hard work pays off.”
This is only a small glimpse of the growing “Cocomania” fervor that surrounds Gauff, who days later made her way to New York City for the US Open, which starts Monday (28 August).
There were more appearances to make and photos to take for the Floridian in NYC, including speaking at the WTA’s 50th anniversary gala and showing off her football-throwing skills in front of 23,000 screaming kids on Arthur Ashe Kids Day on the eve of the Open.
But as the off-court fervor grows around her, Gauff has made her intentions clear: She’s ready to win her first major title.
And is doing everything in her power to make that a reality.
Coco Gauff: Brad Gilbert and a new team
The win in Cincinnati was a second title in three events this summer, following her triumph in Washington, DC. It came after a first-round stumble at Wimbledon, just the third opening round loss at a major in her career. (Gauff lost to 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.)
But she used it as a moment of inflection, adding well-known coach Brad Gilbert to her team, as well as Pere Riba and Jarmere Jenkins, Jenkins having previously worked on Serena Williams’ team.
Gilbert, who has coached Andre Agassi, Andy Murray and other top stars, could be just the ingredient the 2022 French Open runner-up needs, with Gauff having been knocking on the door at the top of the game the last two seasons.
“I think having someone with a little bit more experience will help me for the pressure moments... the semi-finals, finals, quarter-finals,” she told reporters earlier this summer. “Those [are the] moments that I still think I need to get better at.”
She could face one of those exact moments in the US Open quarter-finals, with world No.1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek as her predicted opponent there.
Her Cincinnati title run included something she had never done: Beating Swiatek, who she was previously 0-7 against. (And 0-14 in sets.)
The three-set upset was not only her first in the ‘W’ column against Swiatek, but a win that could prove groundbreaking for Coco’s entire career.
“It feels good,” she said of the Swiatek win. “I'm sure I'm going to play her many more times. I'm not going to maybe win every time, but I think this win shows me that I have the possibility to do it. And I still think I'm not even close to the peak of my game.”
Coco on Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: ‘There’s a lot of similarities’
A year ago, Gauff fell in the quarter-finals at the Open, beaten by an in-form Caroline Garcia. But she also had the chance to meet Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion in the 400m hurdles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who had come to the tennis as a spectator.
Months later, the two Americans spent a day filming together for their common sponsor.
“I got to know her a lot more when we filmed that commercial," Gauff explained. “We spent a long day on the set. I was learning about her life; she was learning about mine. There's a lot of similarities. She's an incredible athlete... one of the greatest athletes on the track for a reason.”
And while McLaughlin-Levrone was forced to miss this month’s World Athletics Championships due to a knee injury, Gauff hopes a different kind of fate awaits her in two weeks’ time in Queens.
“The mindset has changed,” Gauff said of her approach to the Open. “Now I'm just going in and I feel confident in my preparation, my execution.
“I think I'm obviously a lot more confident,” she sadded. “[Now] I feel like no matter the score line in the match, I can be able to problem solve and troubleshoot my way out. I know I can win matches not playing my best game now, [feeling] more confident in my B or C game.”
And whether she shows up with her A, B or C game in New York, the purpose is clear: A US Open title. Cocomania would easily become Coco-insanity.