Coco Gauff says her fairytale 2019 Wimbledon debut also had a negative side because that led to setting enormous expectations on herself and ultimately feeling “suffocated” before resetting and returning to her old perspective and mentality.
Exactly five years ago, a 15-year-old Gauff made her way into the Wimbledon qualifying – but that wasn’t all – since she made it past the qualifying and then went on to reach the round-of-16 in her Grand Slam debut. And not only that Gauff made the Wimbledon round-of-16 as a 15-year-old qualifier, but she also upset her idol and five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams that year.
Last year when Gauff returned to Wimbledon as a top-10 player, she lost in the first round to Sofia Kenin and left the court looking absolutely heartbroken and devastated. For Gauff, it was yet another Grand Slam tournament where she failed to win it all and the chances of her accomplishing her big goal of becoming a Slam champion as a teenager were decreasing.
But the 2023 Wimbledon disappointment ended up being the best thing that could have happened for Gauff as that was the moment when the American realized something needed to change. When the 20-year-old American returned to action last summer, she won her first WTA 1000 title in…
