Coco Gauff is excited about this year’s Wimbledon because it can’t possibly go worse than last year when she lost in the first round.
Gauff didn’t have a very good Wimbledon experience last year. The American was beaten by compatriot Sofia Kenin in the first round. It was not just a loss in the first round; it was also a shocking upset that very few saw coming.
Gauff went on to describe that moment as one of the lowest points of her career. Luckily for her, things turned brighter in the weeks after that. She won a couple of events leading up to the US Open, adding a maiden Grand Slam trophy in New York.
Her level has since stabilized and has been pretty good, though some slip-ups do happen. Wimbledon will be part of her Wimbledon – Olympics stretch as she won’t play any warm-up tournaments in between those two events.
“After this tournament I’m not going to play any warm-up events for the Olympics. In a way it’s like you do two big tournaments in a row, which nobody, unless they’ve played the Olympics, has done before.”
“It’s something unique. Looking ahead to Wimbledon, everything’s fine, it’s a normal part of our schedule; it’s going to be interesting to see how we feel at a tournament as big as the Games.”
There is very little nerve for Gauff heading into this stretch of the season, especially with Wimbledon. Last year was terrible for her, so in that sense, it can’t go any worse.
“I wish the me from that game a year ago could see myself now. It was a tough time for me. The first two or three weeks after that game, I was in a really dark place. It was hard to realize that I still had so much time. I’ve grown so much.”
