Coco Gauff once made the startling revelation that she had contemplated whether she really wanted to be a professional tennis player. The American disclosed that she was buckling under the weight of expectations placed on her due to her early success in the sport.
Gauff was an early bloomer on the juniors circuit, competing at the biggest tournaments at just 13 years of age. She then won her maiden junior Grand Slam title at the 2018 French Open. It didn’t take long for the American to translate her success to the professional tour, making headlines by beating five-time champion Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.
However, the attention also brought with it immense pressure for Coco Gauff to live up to the high expectations placed on her. In a post for Behind the Racquet in 2020, the American revealed that she had even struggled with understanding whether she wanted to continue down the path of pursuing a career in professional tennis.
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"Throughout my life, I was always the youngest to do things, which added hype that I didn’t want. It added this pressure that I needed to do well fast. Once I let that all go, that (was) when I started to have the results I wanted. Right before Wimbledon, going back to around 2017/18, I was struggling to figure out if this was really what I wanted," Coco Gauff said.
Gauff eventually began achieving the results she wanted when she decided to tune out all the noise and only focus on her love for the sport.
"I always had the results so that wasn’t the issue, I just found myself not enjoying what I loved. I realized I needed to start playing for myself and not other people," she added.
"For about a year I was really depressed" - Coco Gauff on feeling 'lost and confused' in her early career
In the same post, Coco Gauff opened up about a difficult year she had early in her career, during which she was lost and depressed. She also struggled with feeling a lack of support from her friends as she dealt with doubts about her tennis career.
"For about a year I was really depressed. That was the toughest year for me so far. Even though I had, it felt like there weren’t many friends there for me. I was just lost. I was confused and overthinking if this was what I wanted or what others did," Coco Gauff said.
After a period of intense contemplation, Gauff came out of that dark period with a greater understanding of herself and more gratitude when she stepped out on court.
"It took many moments sitting, thinking and crying. I came out of it stronger and knowing myself better than ever. Everyone asks me how I stay calm on court and I think it’s because I accepted who I am after overcoming low points in my life. Now, when I’m on court, I am just really thankful to be out there," she added.
Coco Gauff has since gone on to achieve the success that she was expected to, winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open, clinching the 2024 WTA Finals trophy and triumphing at the French Open in 2025.
