Coco Gauff Offers Advice To 16-Year-Old Opponent Amid French Open: ‘When You Step On The Court You Want To Make Sure It’s For You’

Coco Gauff is moving to the quarterfinals of the French Open. She qualified after winning her latest game against 16-year-old Russian player Mirra Andreeva.

Gauff, who is usually the youngest in tournaments, offered some words of wisdom to Andreeva as she launched her career. She said not being pressured to succeed by her sponsors, and parents helped her to keep reaching new heights.

“I had a great family surrounded by me. Great agency surrounded by me. Great sponsors surrounded by me where I never felt pressure to do anything result-wise,” Gauff said, according to Express. “Really, all the pressure was the pressure I was putting on myself, and that’s always going to be the case.”

She also said that having parents who make the right business decisions is Paramount when it comes to having a successful career in tennis.

“At that age, I mean, even now, it’s hard to control who you sign with, what sponsors you have, because you don’t know. You’re just doing it based off what your parents or whoever is telling you,” she added. “So I would say that advice to her parents, because I’m so grateful that my parents always protected me in that sense, so I think I really was just focused on the game and not so much everything else.” 

Gauff made her debut at Wimbledon in 2019. At just 15, the tennis star defeated Venus Williams, which cemented her status as one of the top players to watch out for in the sport. In her advice to Andreeva, Gauff also stressed the importance of competing solely for the love of it.

“I guess the advice to her just to do it for you,” she said. “I mean, don’t do it for anyone else. When you step on the court, you want to make sure it’s for you, and I think life and the game will be a lot more enjoyable that way.”

Although Gauff shared advice to her younger opponent, she says age shouldn’t be used to define tennis players despite it being an important factor.

“Age is important to mention sometimes, but as a player and going through it, yes, it gets a little bit annoying,” she said, according to ESPN. “I feel like I’m the type of person, I don’t need to be praised because of my age or anything. I prefer just to be praised because of my game.”

Now 19, Gauff will be competing against Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of the French Open on June 7. It will be the sixth time the pair has played against one another. So far, Swiatek has won every game. For Gauff, this is just further motivation as she goes into the quarterfinal.

“Since last year, I’ve been wanting to play her here at this tournament,” she said. “I’m the type of mentality that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. If you want to improve, you have to play the best. I think it would be almost cowardly to say that I want to not face the noise and not face the challenge, but I think that I’m up for it. I have improved a lot since last year, and she has too.”