Coco Gauff gave smart advice to Qinwen Zheng about emulating their idols
10/09/2024 02:00 PM
Coco Gauff won the China Open in Beijing againt Karolina Muchova in the final, obtaining her 2nd title of the season, putting behind her some very negative months.
The young American's goal is now the Wuhan Open, the second consecutive WTA 1000 played in China, after Beijing. In the media day of the tournament, Coco touched on many topics, especially the issue of emulating one's idols, addressing in particular young Chinese tennis players.
Answering the media who had asked her in particular about Qinwen Zheng, Gauff underlined the importance and the difference in understanding that one's idols should be emulated, but not copied. Coco gave the example of Serena Williams, who has always been her idol and from whom the young American has taken inspiration, but has never tried to copy her, having two very different styles.
"My idol was Serena, so I tried to draw as much inspiration from her as I could. We are two different players. If you want to be the best, you have to emulate the best. I think you should just pay attention to tennis as much as you can, whether it's me or another player, Qinwen or whoever. Also, don't let your circumstances or background affect your dream. It doesn't matter where you come from, it's possible. Yeah, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
It's amazing to see Qinwen doing well on Tour. Pay attention to your idols, try to emulate them, but not an exact copy. Use them as inspiration. It's like the advice I give to any tennis player, but especially Chinese, I think growing up as a black woman in America, not seeing a lot of representation in the sport of tennis, where it was just Serena and Venus, I think it's really important to pay attention to the people who play the sport," explained Coco.
The role of victories and defeats in her careerHOW?! 😱@CocoGauff | #WuhanOpenpic.twitter.com/HJZVmCyQdc
— wta (@WTA) October 9, 2024
In the meantime, at the press conference on the sidelines of her triumph in Beijing, the young American tennis player had exposed an interesting analysis on the role that victories and defeats have in her career.
"When I get to this stage of the tournament, I'm just happy to be in the final. It helped me a lot to go out there relaxed knowing that I've already won a tournament of this level, but I also think I have enough maturity to know that this match wouldn't change my life. Tomorrow I'll wake up and it's a different day. 70% of the world doesn't know if I won or lost. Probably even more. That way I treat my mentality honestly. I think more and more every day that tennis is not a measure of my value as a person.
Tennis really can't measure my value as a person. When you realize that, it's easier to handle the pressure and play relaxed. Muchova is a very dangerous player. I don't like to play against her, it's very difficult for me to find a way to hurt her, but today I had an impressive concentration and performance. I've played the best tennis in a long time, I'm proud of how I competed because it wasn't an easy tournament at all. I had an impressive feeling of confidence all week, I felt like I could beat anyone.
7-match winning streak 🙌@CocoGauff | #WuhanOpenpic.twitter.com/hDQ9SQhGwe
— wta (@WTA) October 9, 2024
Gauff, in an interview with WTA, commented on her success and analyzed her growth, reflecting on how much pressure she had to face at just 20 and in a short but already successful career.
"A lot of times people forget that I'm still in the development phase of my career and that not everything is going to be great. Most of the girls who are doing well in the Top 10 are 25 or older, maybe with the exception of Iga. I still have a long way to go and I still have a lot of things to work on, but I'm proud of myself so far. I didn't have a complete game at 15 and I don't have it now, but I've been playing on tour almost every week, trying to improve. I'm super proud of that. I told my team that I wanted to play Beijing. We were thinking about going to Wuhan, but I felt that I needed to play, to have fun. The tournaments where I really wanted to do well, the Slams, were over. I always think that this part of the season will be more and more relaxed for me. The result confirms to me that we are going in the right direction," she explained.
