by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
2 September 2024
Despite winning the 2023 US Open, Gauff suffered a series of setbacks.
After Coco Gauff’s early defeat at the US Open, the 2023 champion kept her composure.
Although the tennis player's undignified losing streak continues, the No. 3 seed remains positive about her year. According to NPR, Gauff spoke after her round of 16 loss to Emma Navarro on September 1.
“I think there are 70 other players in the field who would like to have a summer like mine, even though I've probably done the least well at this time of year,” said Gauff. “So many people want to get to the fourth round. So many people want to go to the Olympics. So many people want to be a flag bearer. It's a question of perspective.”
However, Gauff still has to fight hard to regain her throne. She now has another chance at the US Open. Gauff previously lost in the third round at the Olympic Games in Paris.
In preparation for the tournament in New York, Gauff also struggled through matches that also ended in defeat. Although she worked on her serve, she matched her own career high of 19 double faults in her second loss to Navarro.
The 20-year-old described the problem as a “mental hurdle” that she hopes to overcome.
“Sometimes it's more of an emotional, mental thing, because if I go on the practice court now, I would do about 30 serves in a row. I've done that before,” Gauff said. “I think it's also just kind of a mental hurdle that I have to overcome when the time comes. … But I definitely want to pay attention to other things, because I don't want to lose any more matches like that.”
With 60 unforced errors in her final match at the competition, Gauff is a far cry from her performance last year when she won her first Grand Slam title. While the Olympian is still chasing her former glory, she hopes to get her current issues under control to become champion again.
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