via Reuters
Coco Gauff of the U.S. during her first round match against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur Pool via REUTERS/Clive Brunskill
via Reuters
Coco Gauff of the U.S. during her first round match against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur Pool via REUTERS/Clive Brunskill
American teenage tennis sensation Coco Gauff opened up on juggling tennis and school as she sat down for a Zoom session with children from a National Development Squad, supported by Tennis South Australia on the sidelines of the ongoing WTA Adelaide.
In the candid interaction with aspiring tennis stars, the 16-year-old opened up on a range of other topics as well, including what made her start so young and her journey in the game so far.
Coco Gauff says managing studies involves lots of “late nights” and “early mornings”
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On how stressful it gets to manage school, especially when she is traveling to tournaments, Gauff conceded that it does get “very hard” considering the “time zone difference”.
She added that depending on the part of the globe she is at in a given time, she has to be mindful of the local time back in her state so that she can log in for a Zoom class.
Day made 🤩@CocoGauff chats over Zoom with kids from the @TennisSouthAus National Development Squad. Amazing opportunity to hear from one of the world's rising stars on tour. #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/1U5oG7f9Kt
— Adelaide International (@AdelaideTennis) February 25, 2021
“A lot of late nights and a lot of early mornings,” is how the American summed up her experience of managing studies while playing in tournaments.
To a question on why she didn’t hold back on her decision to go pro till she was in her twenties, the American revealed that she wanted to “go on Tour” ever since she “was younger”.
How Gauff made waves in her debut Wimbledon appearance
“I just kinda got lucky. I got a wildcard in Wimbledon qualies and I was lucky even to get that,” Gauff said.
The American not only sealed her passage to the main women’s draw, but also reached the fourth round in her maiden appearance at Wimbledon. What’s more, the teenager handed a straight-set defeat to seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in the opening round.
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Unfortunately, her fairytale campaign ended in the pre-quarters as she went down to two-time Major winner Simona Halep.
via Getty
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 20: Coco Gauff of the United States of America plays a backhand during her Women’s Singles first-round match against Venus Williams of the United States of America on day one of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2020, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Even before that Wimbledon, Coco had started to make heads turn. She won her first WTA Tour title at the age of 15, becoming the youngest to do so since 2004.
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Read More: “Wouldn’t Want to Play With Anyone Else”: Caty McNally Denies Split With Coco Gauff
Currently, she sits on the 52nd spot in the women’s singles rankings and is in sight of her second career Tour title as she battled past compatriot Shelby Rogers in three sets to reach the semifinals of the Adelaide International on Thursday.
