Coco Gauff names the one thing tennis fans need to start doing as she spoke on her poor form pre-China Open
Coco Gauff has been under plenty of scrutiny since she burst onto the scene in 20219 but perhaps not at any other time more than the summer of 2024.
This season featured a packed schedule over the summer months which included playing at the French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympic Games and the US Open.
She was named as one of the favourites for the title at SW19, and was tipped to have a superb Olympics especially after being named Team USA’s co-flag bearer with LeBron James.
Furthermore, expectant fans were hoping for more magic from the 20-year-old at Flushing Meadows as she aimed to defend her title.
But Gauff did not find her best tennis during this period and she did not discover it until the China Open and following her success in Beijing, she had a message for tennis fans.
What did Coco Gauff urge tennis fans to do after winning the China Open?
Fans and members of the media alike were cornered about Gauff after her poor results over the summer saw her fall from number three to number six in the WTA Tour rankings.
The criticism and doubt in her game continued, until Gauff silenced her detractors by winning the China Open on Sunday.
Following this win, Gauff mentioned a WNBA star that she took inspiration from during her difficult moments and encouraged fans to be more respectful of the ups and downs of a tennis player.
“People don’t realise people have great moments in sports and bad moments. It doesn’t mean anything,” Gauff told the WTA website. “I took inspiration from A’ja Wilson. Back to back champions.
“People wanted them to three-peat. She’s kind of like, ‘It’s hard to stay winning all the time.’ You need to go through losses to realise what you need to do to evolve. Tennis fans need to be more accepting of that.”
Can Coco Gauff win the Wuhan Open for the first time?
Gauff went on to win the China Open despite playing down her chances of success.
Her comments were similar after winning her first match in Wuhan, three days after winning in Beijing.
“I have zero expectations for this tournament honestly, just trying to get through each match,” the World number four said. “It’s been a long couple of weeks but I’m happy to get through today and we’ll see how the rest of the tournament goes.”
Gauff will need to play some solid in the next round as Marta Kostyuk will be standing across the net. The Ukrainian reached the fourth round having not played a match since her opening round following a late withdrawal from Amanda Anisimova.
