Coco Gauff confesses she is not in top shape ahead of Beijing title defence
Tennis star Coco Gauff seemingly doesn't have much expectation for her Beijing title defence as the world No. 3 admits she "does not feel like the defending champion" and suggests she will use the event as "a practice tournament."
As you probably know, Gauff lifted her second Grand Slam title at the French Open. But since then, it has been a rough couple of months for the American tennis star, which led to a coaching shakeup just before the US Open and added a biomechanics coach to help her fix her serving woes.
At the US Open, Gauff was evidently thinking too much about her serve and just being focused on not making too many errors. Still, the home star reached the round of 16 before losing to Naomi Osaka. Now, in what will be her second tournament since hiring biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, the 21-year-old is keeping her expectations low.
“Although technically I’m the defending champion [in Beijing], it doesn’t feel like that at all. I don’t want to say ‘not care’ because obviously I’m not playing a tournament and trying to lose or anything... But yeah, there is definitely a weight that you kind of just don’t care in a way, especially when you’ve had like a good moment of the season. I think winning the French Open helped me take that weight off less," the world No. 3 explained.
“I think last year, I did care, but maybe I felt a little bit like I had to do something, because I hadn’t won a big title at that point, at that time of the year yet. I don’t know how I feel right now. I definitely feel a lot lighter. It feels, again, like a practice tournament. So we’ll see how it goes.”
In some way, Gauff's statement makes sense as she is aware that she needs time to implement changes to her new serve and have it clicking. Before that happens, the American will likely keep her expectations low.
After a first-round bye in Beijing, No. 2 seed Gauff will take on either Lucia Bronzetti or Kamilla Rakhimova in the second round.
