US OPEN

August 28, 2025

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

C. GAUFF/D. Vekic

7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You mentioned Simone Biles and that you saw her tonight. I'm curious, what was the first gymnastics highlight you saw of her and how she inspires you as an athlete and a person?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think it was honestly her first Olympics. I don't remember what year that was, but I think it was in Rio. That was like -- maybe one of the first few times. I'm sure I saw her before then, but that's the one that sticks in my memory the most.

Yeah, I mean, she's the greatest -- one of the greatest athletes. It's her and Serena for me on my Mount Rushmore of athletes. Yeah, I think everything that she went through on the mental side of things in the sport, it's something I follow closely and try to learn from.

To see her there tonight kind of gave me a reminder that I needed. I was lucky to -- actually just came from talking to her, so I was able to tell her that in person.

Q. Just wanted to ask about Gavin. Obviously there's so much attention on -- most of the attention is on you, but there's also attention on him, I'm guessing in a way that he's never really experienced before. He strikes me as a pretty low-key guy; is that right?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, definitely.

Q. I know you wouldn't want to put words in his mouth, but I wondered what that was like for him, whether there's any weirdness or discomfort for him with that kind of situation?

COCO GAUFF: Not that I notice. I feel like you have to ask him, but he's not a media guy. He also worked with one of the best players in our sport, so I'm sure he's used to the media, but obviously it's a lot more of it because of the circumstance.

I think for me on the side of things, like, yeah, he's 100%, like, knows what he's doing. For me I just don't want to let him down in that aspect. Yeah, but, I don't know, I don't think he really cares. He's one of those guys -- and I feel like when you reach a certain age, you don't really care about things like that, and I think he's at that age (smiling). No offense. No, it's a real thing.

Q. What's the threshold age?

COCO GAUFF: I don't know. I think for my dad I would say, like, 45, 50 is when he was, like -- I would say 50. When he turned 50, I know for my dad, he just was in that.

I can see for my mom too. She's more and more like my grandma when they just say things with no filter or no regard. She gets mad, but like, You're like my grandma now, because we always make fun of my grandma because say she doesn't know how to read the room. I think you reach a certain age where you just don't care. So maybe in the 50s. Not everyone.

It's a good thing. I want to reach that I-don't-care mindset sooner, honestly.

Q. I think it was actually Taraji P. Henson in a podcast with Keke Palmer saying that when she turned 50 --

COCO GAUFF: Okay, so it is a real. See, I'm telling you. Hopefully that can happen to me at half the age.

Q. After your first round you talked about this being an emotionally exhausting week. What's the biggest challenge, and how tough was it out there dealing with the emotions and maybe the pressure and expectation and all of that?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think for me just working with someone as great as Gavin and also my coach that I've been working with, JC, they put so much effort into me, and they're doing all the correct things, and I know and I believe that. So for me I just want to go out there and execute it.

I think today I showed off the ground and things like that. Like, I'm playing some really great tennis, and I really am proud of that. But yeah, I definitely think the second set for the serve was a lot better, but I would love for it to get to obviously a better point.

Yeah, the biggest challenge is, again, just changing the motion and changing everything before such a big tournament for me. This is one of the most nervous tournaments for me in general, and on top of all this, it's a lot.

I think today I felt a lot better going into the match than my first round. That's an improvement in itself.

Q. You said after the match that you never felt like that before on court. What was it? Was it because before that 5-6 game, you were kind of shaking in your chair. Was it a kind of anxiety thing?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think it was just nerves and just pressure, honestly, and I'm someone that usually can thrive on that. Yeah, there's been a lot on me this tournament, more than usual, which I expected coming in. So yeah, basically what you saw out there was what it was, and I was able to reset through it. But yeah, it was a challenging moment for me on the court.

Yeah, it's been a tough couple of weeks on and off the court, but I'm just happy to get through it today.

Q. You made a self-deprecating comment on ESPN saying something about your jacket that at least you'll look good, and they were trying to say, No, no, don't say that. I'm just curious for you, does it at all help to have a sense of humor about this or letting go or just sort of saying, okay, if this tournament is going to be a rough ride or a shorter ride than I want it to be, so be it, and that can be freeing on some level to exhale a bit, even if you want to normally stay so locked in and positive?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think for me I have that type of humor in general in life (smiling), so yeah. I know my mom doesn't like it that much. But I don't know, I just think it's just a Gen Z thing.

Yeah, I mean, sometimes you have to be able to laugh at yourself, and especially like today being so tough on the court, I just needed to have a moment of that.

Yeah, honestly, I think about that sometimes even after I lost in Wimbledon. I was, like, well, it was a bad loss, but at least my outfit looked good, so it gave something else for people to talk about than the loss.

You have to take the positives in life, and I know it's a tough moment. Everybody knows that, but I'm not a fake positive person either. I even told that to Gavin when he first met me. I said, I'm not someone who's going to be fake positive. If I'm positive, I mean it.

Yeah, on the court and in matches I do better with that, but in practice I can be a bit tougher on myself, so I have to let some humor out in the interviews.

Q. You've talked a lot over the years about coming here as a kid and watching the US Open. And speaking of your outfits, I'm just curious if you could talk about how the style has evolved at the US Open and how athletes have been emboldened to make different choices and how even the choices that you make influence even your game.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I really think Serena pushed that fashion on the sport and made a lot of people and brands want to care about the kits more and what they're dressing their athletes now. You can even see the push and now brands are having more than just one kit for their roster of athletes. When I was going to the US Open, it was kind of looking like a cheerleading squad, everybody in one kit. Now I can see that they're pushing more for that unique ability and really capitalize off of that.

Then also, you can see off court when I went to US Open as a kid, I don't recall my parents or anyone really caring what they were wearing. Now you see, like, the influencers and people really showing up in their best outfits, and I think that's great for our sport just having it be able to reach that factor because we don't have a jersey, we don't have a uniform. I think the possibilities on court are kind of endless.

I'm proud to be one of those players on the roster showing up in good kits, and I try my best too. Yeah, it's something exciting for me to do on the court too.

Q. I'm curious, how does it feel to have been vulnerable like that in a room of 24,000 people and I don't know how many millions of people watching at home? To go through that, is it liberating? What does it feel like?

COCO GAUFF: It feels human, I think. I think being an athlete, people kind of disregard that side of us, the human side of things. You know, people say so many things, like, you know, No. 3 in the world, and you're doing this or you're playing like this, and you should be better and things like that. But at the end of the day, I feel like I've already, if I stop and didn't pick up a racquet tomorrow, I have a career that so many people would dream of.

So I think when I'm out there in that moment, I kind of give into the pressures, but I feel like that's normal. I feel like every pro athlete who's been on the pedestal that I've been on has felt that pressure at some point in their career where they showed it publicly like I did or privately.

But I think I just show people what it's like to be a human, and I have bad days, but I think it's more about how you get up after those bad moments and how you show up after that. I think today I showed that I can get up after feeling the worst I've ever felt on the court.

Q. Just back on the fashion, you have a really great sense of style for someone so young. Does that come from your mom or your dad?

COCO GAUFF: Neither (laughing). No. Every now and then I'll steal one of my mom's belts or something. But no, I think my own -- I'm the best dressed in the family for sure. Everybody stepped up their game after me.

No, after COVID I kind of went through -- there was no tennis. There was no nothing, so I was just, like, bro, I need to step up how I dress. Yeah, I think for me it's just -- I'm, like, I just want to wear whatever I want to wear.

Yeah, I don't know. It's just a way to express myself. I can't sing. I can't act. I can't dance. So there has to be some way to express myself creatively, and that's through my outfits.

Q. You spoke a moment ago about the emotions and the challenge of the serve. What gives you the most encouragement at this moment about your serve while you're undergoing this change?

COCO GAUFF: I think the most encouragement is also how I showed up in the second set with the serve. I think I won, like, a lot of points off first serve, and I don't know how many doubles I had in the second, but it was a lot less than the first. That's for sure.

I don't know. I think this whole tournament I think will stick for me the rest of my career knowing that if I can get through, like, two tough matches feeling how I'm feeling, I know I can get through pretty much anything. I know regardless, I hope I get more Grand Slam finals and when those nerves come, I'll recall on this feeling and knowing that it probably can't get much worse than this (smiling).

Yeah, I think for me it's a lot to be proud of. I feel like off the ground in returning it's something that I'm playing really well, and I think that used to be one of the weakest parts of my game a couple of years ago. There's a lot of positives. I'm just trying to make sure that I open my eyes and see that too.

Q. One of the biggest talking points of the week so far was Taylor Townsend's win over Jelena Ostapenko. I'm wondering if you saw what happened at the end of the match and what your thoughts are on it, if so?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I saw what happened at the end of the match, and obviously I'm close with Taylor. I can tell you, well, the first two things that happened. Taylor always has warmed up at the net since juniors. I've played her in a challenger, like, when I was 14, and that's what she did. It's not against the rules.

Then same thing with the let cord. Even though it's something that some people do, but she hit a winner afterwards. You know, it's not against the rules either.

But yeah, I mean, I know what was said after the match. I think that's not -- I think it was a heat of the moment thing. I think Jelena was probably feeling emotions after she lost.

I do think that that shouldn't have been said regardless of how you're feeling, especially given those were the reasons that she stated. Knowing Taylor personally, she's the opposite of that. She's one of the nicest people that I've ever met. Whenever I've had a tough moment on court, she's texting me, making sure, checking in on how I am.

So yeah, I really hate to see that. Maybe this is some of the first people hearing who Taylor Townsend is, and I don't want that to be the main focus of who she is, because she's a lot more than that. She's a mom. She's a great friend. She's a talented tennis player and a good person.

So I think at the end of this tournament I hope that people do a deep dive into her and get to know her more than what was said in the previous match.

Q. Did you feel a difference in your serve since working with your new coach, and how so?

COCO GAUFF: No, I definitely feel a difference in the motion, and I think for me when I do it correctly, I'm definitely not falling for it as much. But I think my body has been used to doing it one way for how long, or however long, and I think for me it's just counteracting that in those moments and trying to stay in the right motion that we've been working on.

Yeah, it's been tough doing it all over and kind of refactoring everything, a motion that I knew very well. But I know for the future this is the right step forward, and this is the biggest test of them all. It will only get easier from here.