She is a huge star who transcends her sport and carried the flag alongside LeBron James at the Paris Olympics. She has a model of sports shoes inspired by her and appears on cereal boxes and various other products.
However, he still occasionally sounds like someone dealing with impostor syndrome.
She will return to New York on Monday to begin the new edition of the US Open, the tournament she won last year and which gave her her first major trophy – she was the first American teenager to achieve such a feat since Serena Williams in 1999.
And to put it simply, he still doesn’t understand why it’s causing such a stir.
“I just thought I was a nobody,” Gauff said. “The whole flag-bearer thing still drives me crazy. I kind of wonder, ‘Why am I there?’”
Gauff popular with athletes at Paris Olympics
As she toured the Olympic Village, Gauff was frequently stopped by other athletes, who asked to pose with her for a photo.
“I was like, ‘Can I take a selfie with you, too? ’ I just wasn’t really expecting that,” the Floridian said. “Maybe I didn’t understand it.”
Less than a month ago, when asked to give her thoughts on the US Open and its importance to her budding career, Gauff replied: “This just hasn’t crossed my mind.”
Instead, Gauff said she was focused on the 2024 Games and fully immersing herself in that experience.
“She’s really embraced her star power in a way,” said Jessica Pegula, a top-10 player and Gauff’s frequent doubles partner. “But at the same time, she’s like a kid.”
Gauff on and off the track
Off the field, Gauff’s Olympic debut was a success: She met James, collected pins, made friends with people of many nationalities and chatted over breakfast with several notable athletes such as Noah Lyles, winner of the 100-meter gold medal.
“He’s the most confident athlete I’ve ever met in my life,” Gauff said. “Except maybe for Serena.”
On the court, the results were not as gratifying.
Gauff was eliminated in the third round of the singles event after arguing with the chair umpire over a late decision. She then lost her second match in both the women’s and mixed doubles.
“I’m trying to take the positives out of this,” Gauff said. “I’ll do better next time.”
Bad timing
As Gauff begins her bid to defend her title – a term she dislikes – she is not on a good run of results.
She was eliminated in the fourth round at Wimbledon, where she was seen to be unhappy with her coach Brad Gilbert. After her Olympic struggles, she moved to hard courts in order to be ready for New York, and that did not work out well either.
He lost his second match in Toronto and his first in Cincinnati. In the rankings, he fell from second to third place.
This is not the same run-up to Gauff’s 2023 campaign. She won 11 of 12 matches to take the titles in Washington and Cincinnati, before heading to the US Open for the crowning glory that made her a star.
“She’s getting constant attention all the time, and it’s hard to deal with that,” said Emma Navarro, another American player who beat Gauff at Wimbledon and was her Olympic partner. “I have a lot of respect for her and how she handles it.”
It will be fascinating to see how Gauff performs when the lights come on at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Her first opponent will be Varvara Gracheva, who has fallen in the first round in the last two years in New York.
“You just don’t know, at least consciously, the expectations that are put into the cells of your body,” said Chris Evert, a six-time U.S. Open champion and current ESPN analyst. “Everyone, from day one, has thought about Coco: ‘She’s the next Serena Williams, she’s going to be the one to dominate.’ And that stays with you for a long time.”
There will be other stories of interest, from the recent doping case of number one Jannik Sinner, to defending champion Novak Djokovic’s bid for a 25th Grand Slam title, to the efforts of Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka to claim a second major title in 2024.
And the Americans will be looking to break a 21-year drought without men’s crowns at the major events.
But Gauff might be the most watched.
“I obviously have a lot more aspirations than just winning a major,” he said. “I think starting one gives you proof and the belief that you can do it again.”
