Coco Gauff became a tennis sensation back in 2019, when she made her debut in the main draw of the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament. The young tennis player thrilled the world by winning against the experienced Venus Williams, and that at just 15 years old. Many who still remember that match with nostalgia wonder how such a young tennis player managed to show mental strength and be dominant in a match against one of the best tennis players in the history of this sport.
In an interview with Forbes, Coco Gauff revealed how she felt before the start of the match, but also now, six years later.
Yeah. Even now, like moments when I watch that back, it doesnt feel like me, I just feel like Im watching somebody else.
I remember when the draw came out, my dad was like, Oh, you have Venus. And I remember inside being Oh, thats great.
Obviously youre hoping to play someone maybe ranked a lot lower and not Venus in your first match, which I was definitely hoping for.
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But I felt like for me, I just thought that, okay well I have nothing to lose out there. So I was like let me go out there and just see what I can do."- Coco said.
Gauff revealed that she spoke with Mary Jo Fernandez before the match and got specific advice that really helped her. While the then 15-year-old tennis player wanted to offer as much resistance as possible, having no ambitions to win, Fernandez was the key to her mindset change.
In addition, the grass represented a serious challenge for the young tennis player, who knew that she was not the strongest on that surface. The pressure before the start of the match was huge, but Coco Gauff tried to ignore her fear and play with a special mindset in that period.
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And I actually had a conversation with Mary Joe Fernandez, shes a three-time Slam finalist before that, and she was like, Dont go out there and see how many games you can get, go out there to win.
And that conversation changed my whole perspective of how I approached that match, because I was definitely going out there to see if I can just get a few games and not be blown out.
You have the belief that you can win. But I feel like theres a difference of belief and then also knowing. I had belief, but I was like I dont know if I could do it, especially Venus at Wimbledon, shes the queen of that surface.
At the time I definitely knew grass it still isnt but I definitely knew grass wasnt the best surface for me.
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But yeah I just remember not looking at the scoreboard because I didnt want to see Venus Williams name.
I didnt want to look at her. So I was just trying to treat it as me playing the qualifying matches that I did the week prior.- Coco concluded.
Coco Gauff's potential
Six years later, Coco Gauff is truly one of the best tennis players in the world with the potential to climb to the top of the WTA rankings. Although the competition is fierce and with many interesting names, most expect that the American will be the main figure of the women's tennis scene, if not next year, then in the near future.
It's really a bit strange when we know that, as much as Coco Gauff is still a young tennis player, she was present on the tennis scene even six years ago. Victories against opponents like Venus Williams give her additional motivation and strength, and years later Gauff has improved a lot and is well on her way to breaking many records.
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However, it is still too early to give any serious predictions, and the most important thing for her is to stay healthy and avoid injuries.
