US OPEN

August 30, 2025

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

C. GAUFF/M. Frech

6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Coco, congratulations once again. Questions, please.

Q. Just curious, your serve, I mean, when you came into this tournament, you kind of acknowledged that because of the timing it might take you a little while to start making some of these improvements in your serve.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah.

Q. Did you surprise even yourself with how rapid some of those improvements have been?

COCO GAUFF: I mean, yes and no. I mean, I know this process would be up and down, so today was definitely a positive, and I hope it goes up from here.

But yeah, I think for me I guess I'm more proud of, like, the mental effort of things and trying to remember the things that we worked on in practice. Today I definitely think was a step in the right direction.

You know, I would love to continue to build and improve on that.

Q. This first week has been quite a dramatic and stressful week in terms of Medvedev and Ostapenko and Tsitsipas as well. Is there anything about US Open, New York, that kind of brings that on, maybe makes people a bit more highly strung? I don't know. Maybe the fact it's the end of the year.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think it's, (a) end of the year; (b) we're in New York, and the fans here -- I love them -- but, you know, they can definitely -- you're on the wrong side of things, can -- they're into the match. They're passionate tennis fans. They know what's going on, and they're used to other events I think, like major events, happening in the city that aren't tennis.

Then, I don't know, I think, to be honest, with some of the drama, I feel like it happens frequently on tour, but because it's here, it gets more social media clicks. Some of the players, these are reoccurring things that us in the tennis world it's not surprising. It's like, okay, whatever. But because it's here in New York and maybe not as many tennis fans or things like that, it gets blown up on social media.

I think for us players it's just another week on tour. But these things happen, I would say, more frequently than maybe the ones who just tune into the Grand Slams think.

Q. There's obviously been a lot of focus on one particular aspect of your game out on court and here from us, but how pleased have you been with everything else about your play? Is that all stuff that is kind of muscle memory and comes so naturally that it's nice to know you have the great court coverage, the terrific baseline play, you've been great at the net as well, returning, those aspects of your game have been quite strong?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think for me those are the aspects I'm trying to remember, the things I can do well. Then today, you know, I think I could have been more aggressive in moments.

It was tough, honestly, playing against her. I played her before, and she gives you no pace, maybe not too many angles to work with, so you kind of have to create all the opportunity for yourself compared to my last two opponents who were hitting the ball bigger and flatter. So it was a bit of an adjustment going from, like, playing some fast-hitting players to someone who hits a bit slower and puts more balls in play.

But overall I'm definitely happy with how I played off the ground today, and the serve, I thought the percentage was great. I would love to continue to be more aggressive with it as the tournament goes.

Q. After everything that happened on Thursday night, did you wake up feeling a little differently yesterday?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah. I mean, for me I think I just realized that I don't want that moment to happen again, like, on court for sure. Yeah, I'm not someone who -- like, I don't know, I don't want to show, I guess, weakness in moments. But after the match I was thinking, like, maybe it's not a weakness. It's just showing the things that happen in my head and not keeping it inside to the point where I can't play.

But I felt with the new perspective, seeing all the support I've gotten since that moment, just seeing how proud people are of me regardless of how I do here. Today I felt a lot lighter going on court, and I hope to continue feeling that light weight for the rest of the time here.

Q. Your next match could be against Naomi or Daria, they're still playing. I just wonder what you remember about -- you were 15 years old when you played Naomi here, and it was a very emotional match obviously for you. What has your relationship been like over the years, and what do you remember about that?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, that moment, I remember it was a tough moment for me because it was a hyped-up match. I remember looking back at it. I guess I put way too much pressure on myself thinking I maybe had a chance in that moment to actually do something, which I definitely did, but I think it was just I felt more expectation that I should than maybe belief. Then when I played her in Australia, that was more belief than expectation.

But yeah, Naomi and I, we aren't super close or anything, but we're definitely friendly with each other. I support her from afar in all the things that she's done on and off the court.

Yeah, if I were to play her, I'm imagining we would probably be on Ashe and at night. I'm just assuming. It would be a cool kind of deja vu type of situation, but hopefully it will be a different result.

If I were to play Daria, I don't think I've ever beaten her, so it would be a tough match. She's an all-court player and can really make you earn those points, so I think it would be a similar matchup to as today if I were to play her.

Q. Having gone through so much emotional pressure and stress the last couple of days, you going against Naomi, is that an advantage in your mind to yourself? How much do you have left in the tank in a sense?

COCO GAUFF: No, I think it's an advantage. For me mentally I think to play a caliber opponent as her, I think sometimes even though all the women on tour are incredible, but when you have these matchups where you know you're so heavily favorited, it puts more pressure than when you're playing someone who, I guess, the odds people view it differently.

So if I were to play her, I think she's having a great season and always a tough player and a threat, especially on hard court, so I think that match I guess odds-wise can really go either way. I think for me that almost takes the pressure off.

Q. There's a lot of forehand-to-forehand rallies today. Is that something you're also working on with Gavin? How comfortable do you feel in that shot just overall right now?

COCO GAUFF: No, it's definitely something that we've been working on in the short time, along with everything else. I think I feel really confident.

Usually those are some rallies that I would try to get out of in the past, but today I think I was just trying to stay in them and wait for the right one to go to the line and not rush to change direction. It's something we've been working on.

I think already within the week we've had there's been some improvements. Yeah, also with JC, I've been working on this part of my game with him for a long time too. I think gradually from the start of the year until now it's just gotten a lot better.

Q. You spoke a few minutes ago about what you show on the court. How has that evolved over time from when you burst onto the scene and had so much joy on the court to then thinking about what you're showing, and what are you thinking about it now?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah. I think honestly, yeah, when you're 15, I always tell younger players that, like, the first time it's very fresh and new, and so you feel just excited for every opportunity.

Then you start to do more interviews, and you start to be aware of what's going on. I think Emma said this in an interview, like, aware of the negativity. You kind of get into that into your head with it.

But for me I think I've been learning and have learned to just remember to stay on my path, and the only expectations I have are the ones that I have of myself. When I'm out there and I have those moments, it's just me being authentically myself and who I am.

Is that how I want to show up all the time? No, but I think for me it's just a learning experience and showing people the ups and downs.

I have been on this tour since I was 15, and I think I've done pretty well with the mental side of things. There are moments I wish I could show up better, but you know, when they happen, I think I just try to get up and be a better version of myself. Well, sometimes the next point, not even the next day.