When you are just 15 years old and you have already reached the fourth round of Wimbledon by defeating one of your heroes, Venus Williams, in your debut match, it is natural to be in a hurry. It is simple to be in a rush when the sponsors and the platform have already been established, when experts have been telling you that you have what it takes to be a champion, and when the voice in your brain is telling you that you have what it takes to be a champion.
Tennis, on the other hand, is one of the most challenging sports; it combines elements of the physical, the technical, and the psychological; there is a lot of time to think in between points and serves; and there are a lot of competitions, time changes, and losses to go through.
Even though she is just 18, Coco Gauff has had to demonstrate far more patience than she had anticipated. However, the young American’s performances under duress are starting to begin to coincide with his potential. She will compete against the top-seeded player in the tournament, Iga Swiatek, for the championship and the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen on the final day of the French Open on Saturday. This will be her first appearance in a Grand Slam singles final.
Gauff, who at the age of 17 became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament when Maria Sharapova did it at Wimbledon in 2004, was comparing her hopes for this tournament to those she had for the previous season, when she made it to the quarterfinals of the French Open. She discovered that she was unable to handle the pressure and the crucial points, and she threw her racket across the clay in exasperation as she was defeated by Barbora Krejcikova, who was not a seeded competitor but ended up winning the match.
There is no denying the fact that the odds are still heavily stacked against her. Gauff is up against the most difficult competition that is currently available in women’s tennis.
Swiatek, who is 21 years old, won the first semifinal on Thursday and extended her winning run to 34 matches by annihilating the 20th-seeded Daria Kasatkina in little over an hour by scores of 6-2 and 6-1.
Swiatek, who is a big and more intimidating Polish player, has become used to scoring in this manner and playing at a rapid tempo. She has not been defeated in a match since the month of February, and she defeated Gauff in both of their previous matches in straight sets. She won their first match on red clay in the semifinals of the Italian Open in 2017 by a score of 7-6 (3) and 6-3, and she won their second match on hardcourt in the round of 16 at the Miami Open in March by a score of 6-3 and 6-1.
Swiatek may be forced to make more mistakes than she is used to as a result of Gauff’s ability to prolong points with her speed and defensive abilities. According to her father, Corey Gauff, who has been her primary coach since she was a youngster, Gauff has improved her tactics under the direction of Diego Moyano, the senior coach who joined her squad in April. Moyano has been with the club since April.
However, clay continues to be Swiatek’s preferred medium for his paintings. She was just 19 years old when she won the French Open in 2020. Gauff was defeated by Trevisan in the second round of that competition, and she seemed to be becoming more upset as the number of her double faults increased. She ended up with 19 points. She concluded the Roland Garros tournament on Thursday with only two, which was her lowest total of the tournament.
Gauff received her diploma from an online high school that operates all year long earlier this spring. In honour of her accomplishment, she celebrated by having her picture shot in front of the Eiffel Tower just before the French Open. Corey Gauff is of the opinion that this has allowed her to succeed more in Paris.
But she continues to keep up with current events, and on Thursday, after she defeated Trevisan, she walked across the red clay for the now-customary signing of the television camera glass and decided, quite impulsively, as she explained it, to make a statement about the elementary school shooting that took place a month ago in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed. In that shooting, 19 students and two teachers were killed.
Gauff said that sportsmen who have been vocal about addressing social and cultural concerns, such as the former quarterback for the National Football League Colin Kaepernick and her fellow tennis star Naomi Osaka, were an inspiration to her. But Gauff’s family also instilled in her from a young age the idea that her influence may extend far beyond the confines of the courtroom.
Even still, tennis is unquestionably the main attraction at Roland Garros. Gauff, who was seeded 18th, will definitely go up to a career-high No. 13, and if she wins against Swiatek, she may move up to No. 8 in the rankings. She is not just focused on winning the singles competition. In the women’s doubles competition, she and her partner, Jessica Pegula, have advanced to the semifinals. On Friday, they will compete against their fellow Americans, Taylor Townsend and Madison Keys.
