‘It almost brings me to tears’ – Coco Gauff on her changed stance on pressure ahead of Wimbledon tilt

Coco Gauff says she was «crazy» to put so much pressure on herself at the start of her career but the realisation that fans support her regardless of success leaves her close to tears. Gauff said her emergence as a precocious 15-year-old when she beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019 blurred her own expectations.

She told the Telegraph that she “expected to win” the US Open that followed just months later, but was on the end of a heavy defeat to Naomi Osaka instead in the third round. Ad/> The now 18-year-old – selected to train with Patrick Mouratoglou aged 10 — has been earmarked for greatness since childhood, but on reflection, she was applying too much pressure.

Wimbledon‘Unlike any other’ – Kyrgios snapped up by Osaka’s Evolve agency20/06/2022 AT 16:45 “I would say, ‘you’re crazy, you’re putting so much pressure on yourself'," she said of advice she would give to her younger self. “She was crazy.” The American added that she has been touched by the level of support she has received – whether she wins or loses.

And experience, it seems, has taught the teenager that popularity or support is not intrinsically linked to success. “People come up to me and say they support me regardless of whether I win or lose, and it almost brings me to tears,” she said.

“Because when I was younger, even 15 or 16, I would think that people would only like me if I won.” Gauff’s maturity extends beyond the court, and after beating Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-1 to progress to a first Grand Slam final at the French Open, she wrote a message on the camera pleading for an end to gun violence in the United States. She also gave a moving speech at a Black Lives Matter protest in Delray Beach, south Florida in 2020 aged 16, and she adds the issues