Tennis star Coco Gauff just turned 16 last month, but she’s already become a household name in the world of sports and beyond thanks to her upset of Venus Williams, and a deep run into the 4th round, at Wimbledon in 2019. The boost in her profile also made her a must-watch at last year’s US Open where she eventually lost to another young tennis phenom, Naomi Osaka.
The pressure of the sport and the spotlight can be intense even for a grownup, but imagine all of that attention coming to you when you’re barely old enough to drive. Gauff recently opened up about just how difficult it’s been for her in an emotionally candid new post on Behind the Racquet, a platform that allows players to tell their stories in their own words.
“Right before Wimbledon, going back to around 2017/18, I was struggling to figure out if this was really what I wanted. I always had the results so that wasn’t the issue, I just found myself not enjoying what I loved. I realized I needed to start playing for myself and not other people. For about a year I was really depressed,” she writes. “That was the toughest year for me so far. Even though I had, it felt like there weren’t many friends there for me. When you are in that dark mindset you don’t look on the bright side of things too often, which is the hardest part. I don’t think it had much to do with tennis, maybe just about juggling it all. I knew that I wanted to play tennis but didn’t know how I wanted to go about it. It went so far that I was thinking about possibly taking a year off to just focus on life. Choosing not to obviously was the right choice but I was close to not going in that direction.”
“I was just lost. I was confused and overthinking if this was what I wanted or what others did,” she continued. “It took many moments sitting, thinking and crying. I came out of it stronger and knowing myself better than ever. Everyone asks me how I stay calm on court and I think it’s because I accepted who I am after overcoming low points in my life. Now, when I’m on court, I am just really thankful to be out there.”
