Serena Williams’ retirement after the US Open in 2022 was a turning point for women’s tennis. They had lost their biggest gem, who had served on the WTA Tour for over 20 years. Even as her void was difficult to fill, there were many young stars like Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek emerging on the tour. They took over from there, and the results are showing up, with both Gauff and Swiatek now being multi-time Grand Slam champions. Despite this, Williams feels that there is a major thing missing among today’s generation of players in the WTA circuit.

More often than not, we see players getting overwhelmed by the situation and not being able to give their best despite possessing immense talent. This was very unlike Williams, who was a confident player during her playing days and it showed up on the court. Thus, the 23-time Grand Slam champion had a message for the WTA stars of this generation.

Serena said in an interview with Reckitt, “It’s ok to scream that I am the best at this. It’s ok to feel that way and not also feel that we’re over pontificating about it. It’s fine. We don’t really celebrate ourselves enough. We have to hide ourself or we have to just, kind of, almost dummy down who we are. We don’t have to do that. I think it’s good to embrace it.”

Speaking about Gauff, it has been an impressive season for her. She won her first French Open title a few weeks back, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling final match. However, the start of the season wasn’t impressive for Gauff, and she opened up about how she’ll turn things around after losing confidence in herself.

Coco Gauff had a solid turnaround

Before the French Open, Gauff hadn’t won a single title in 2025. Moreover, she suffered two heartbreaking finals losses in Madrid and Rome, which shook her confidence big time. Nonetheless, Gauff overcame this tough situation by believing in oneself and won the 2025 French Open.

She said, “I’m truly someone who strives for perfection. It’s something I’ve been working on. I think perfectionism is something that drives me in a good way, but it can also be a bad thing. So I think it’s just about finding the right balance and keeping in mind that it’s a long season. You know very well that you’re not going to win every tournament. And I’m someone who believes in my abilities.”

However, after her French Open dream came true, Gauff suffered a shocking first-round loss at Wimbledon. Nonetheless, she would look to use her comeback formula once again and show her true worth in the US Open Swing. Can Gauff come back strongly after the Wimbledon fiasco? Let us know your views in the comments below.