Coco Gauff is embracing the pressure and privilege of defending her US Open title -- with the help of elite Olympians and at least one encouraging TikTok commentator. "Obviously coming in as defending champion is a little bit of pressure, but also more of a privilege, because as my new motto is: If you defend, that means you won something before," Gauff said Friday at Flushing Meadows, where the final Grand Slam of the season starts on Monday.
Gauff, ranked third in world, has endured a difficult follow-up season after bagging her first major title here last year. A semi-finalist at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, she was bounced in the fourth round at Wimbledon and endured Olympic disappointment in Paris.
She fell in the third round at Toronto, and crashed out of the first match of her Cincinnati title defense. But Gauff, with just one title in 2024, said she'd been inspired by athletes she met at the Olympics, including America's 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas.
She said meeting elite athletes from other sports made her realize that "what you're feeling isn't so isolated". "The nerves, you realize nerves are normal, the pressures are all normal.