Fresh off what she called an “unexpected” victory at the China Open in Beijing last week, Gauff is now close to securing a spot in the season-ending WTA Finals for the third consecutive year.
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At just 20 years old, Gauff has reached two Grand Slam semi-finals and claimed two titles this year. However, despite her successes, she has faced scrutiny, particularly following her unsuccessful defence of the US Open title last month.
“People don’t realise people have great moments in sports and bad moments,” Gauff told reporters at the Wuhan Open, where she faces Viktoriya Tomova in the second round on Wednesday.
Sept 5, 2023; Flushing, NY, USA; Coco Gauff of the USA after beating Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on day nine of the 2023 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
“It doesn’t mean anything. I took inspiration from A’ja Wilson,” she said, referring to the Las Vegas Aces back-to-back basketball WNBA champion.
“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, ” said Gauff.
Meanwhile, China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen said Tuesday she was “feeling the responsibility” as the new face of Chinese tennis and admitted she needed to find a way to handle the pressure.
Zheng shot to superstar status in her home country after reaching the Australian Open final and winning Paris gold this year.
“There is a lot of activity for me, but I enjoy it. Especially I saw there are pictures of me everywhere. I mean, yes, that’s insane,” said Zheng, who turned 22 on Tuesday.
“People have big expectations of me here. I hope I could stay here longer. But tennis is always tough to predict.
“Of course, there is pressure. I’m also feeling the responsibility as a leader of the new generation, meaning what you are saying is under public scrutiny.”
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