Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff confirmed that she wasn’t solely an embodiment of perfectionism however had a dose of favor up her sleeve when she graced the quilt of Vogue’s April concern. At simply 19, Gauff secured her first main win on the US Open in September, triumphing over Aryna Sabalenka in a memorable match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Now, six months later, she’s getting into the limelight akin to tennis icon Serena Williams, gracing the quilt of the famend style journal, based on Each day Mail. On the cusp of turning 20, rising tennis star Gauff was captured by famend photographer Annie Leibovitz, recognized for her iconic portraits of figures like Queen Elizabeth II.
Gauff, radiant in a $5,690 Michael Kors costume, posed for the digicam and shared insights on her latest Grand Slam victory, navigating strain, and her admiration for the Williams sisters in an interview with the publication.
The younger athlete, adorned in a shocking gold Dior ensemble, likened her exhilarating US Open victory to an addictive pursuit she plans to chase all through her profession.
“That was a sense I’ll by no means have the ability to replicate regardless of what number of extra matches I win,” she advised Vogue. “I wish to win extra so I can get as near the sensation.
“I advised my mother—I actually mentioned, ‘It was an addictive feeling.’ As quickly as I felt that, I needed to refeel it once more. I mentioned, ‘Now I see how individuals get hooked on medicine.’ That feeling was a drug. For the remainder of my life, the remainder of my profession, I’m going to be chasing that prime.”
Gauff’s defeat of Venus Williams within the first spherical at Wimbledon (her first grand slam match) made her an immediate world star.
“Once I walked on the court docket, I put the music actually loud in my ears as a result of I didn’t wish to have a look at, or hear, the gang,” Gauff recalled of the match towards the five-time champion in 2019. “A number of occasions throughout that match I didn’t even have a look at the scoreboard as a result of I didn’t wish to see her title.”
The fast-rising tennis expressed her remorse for not with the ability to play Serena Williams earlier than her retirement in 2022. “If I had the proper world I might have gotten to play each. However Serena retired and I performed Venus twice. In my excellent world I might have performed Venus as soon as and Serena as soon as,” she mentioned.
However Gauff mentioned she was joyful she by no means acquired the prospect to face Serena Williams as a result of she wasn’t positive how she would have dealt with herself.
“Enjoying Serena at Wimbledon, I don’t know, I really feel like it could have tousled my story,” she mentioned. “I wasn’t prepared for Serena at the moment.”
Gauff’s journey to her first Grand Slam victory concerned overcoming perfectionism, a trait ingrained since her early college days, as revealed by her mom.
“It’s a terrific factor and in addition a nasty factor,” Gauff defined. “It’s not like I’m saying, ‘Good job, Coco.’ It’s like, ‘Okay, why didn’t you try this sooner?”
“I’m attempting to do extra of, you already know, accepting the nice photographs,” Gauff mentioned, “and giving myself as a lot of a praise as I do a critique.”
The tennis star hinted she was concerned in a romantic relationship with out disclosing her boyfriend’s id. Describing him as a “very good man” who’s at the moment a scholar, aspiring for music college and pursuing appearing, she additionally revealed he performs the guitar and hails from Atlanta, not Delray.
“And truly, um, I’ll say this: Individuals on Twitter discovered him two or three days in the past. I gained’t reply and make sure if it’s him or not, however they caught me within the feedback, so that they know.
“Some individuals thought it was somebody in tennis and that couldn’t be farther from the reality.”
