BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 06: Champion Coco Gauff of United States kisses the China Open trophy. ... [+]
U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff said she is still evolving and won’t let her recent China Open triumph distract her from her long-term goals.
Gauff won the WTA 1000 title in Beijing on Sunday after beating U.S. Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-3 in the final. It was Gauff’s second WTA Tour title of the season after her successful title defense at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand in January.
According to the WTA website, Gauff is the first woman in the Open Era to win her first seven WTA hard-court finals.
Interestingly, Gauff had no plans of playing in the China Open after suffering a fourth-round exit during her U.S. Open title defense last month. But the 20-year-old, who made changes to her coaching team, believed she needed to compete instead of taking a training break.
The youngster, who became the second American champion in Beijing after Serena Williams’ title runs in 2004 and 2013, took a relaxed approach to the tournament in Beijing and kept her expectations low.
Ultimately, that proved to be helpful.
“I think last year, I won U.S. Open and I was like, the rest of the season, I want to do well, but whatever — just play and see what happens,” Gauff told WTA Insider.
“And then this time it was like, well, I haven't done so well. The tournaments that I really wanted to do well in, the Slams, that was over. So it was kind of, let's just see what happens here.
“I always think that this part of the season will always just be more relaxed for me."
Her route to the trophy wasn’t easy as Gauff had to bounce back from a set down in three consecutive matches to make the final. But she was proud of sticking to her plan.
“I think the result is now reassurance that I am in the right direction,” she added.
The world No. 6, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and reached the French Open final in 2022, expressed pride in her journey so far and added that there is still room for improvement.
“A lot of times people forget that I'm still in the developmental phase of my career and nothing is going to be great,” Gauff said. “Most of the people doing well are 25 [years] and older in the Top 10, maybe with the exception of Iga [Swiatek].
“We have a long way to go and I still have a lot that I need to work on and I'm proud of myself thus far,” she said.
“I didn't have a complete game at 15 and I don't have one right now, but I've been on tour playing every week almost, trying to be better. I'm just super proud of that.”
