Coco Gauff eager to make most of home support in Texas during WTA Finals, hopes to explore Fort Worth and live her 'inner country' life
Coco Gauff has secured her maiden qualification for the 2022 WTA Finals after a remarkable season that saw her feature in her first Grand Slam final in Paris before breaking into the top 5 of the WTA rankings. The 18-year-old will join the likes of World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur, and Jessica Pegula, amongst others, at the season-ending championships, which will run from October 31 to November 7 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The American, who is the youngest entrant in the top 5 since Maria Sharapova in 2005, recently spoke to WFAA Sports about making her WTA Finals debut on home soil. The World No. 4 expressed hopes of showcasing her best tennis and using the crowd support to her advantage.
"When they announced the location, I was really happy to see it was in the US. I'm just happy that I can play another tournament in the U.S. Whenever I can play at home, it helps me more mentally because A. the travel, and B. you know that you're going to have crowd support. What I'm most looking forward to is the crowd support that I hope I'll receive in Texas," Coco Gauff said.
Discussing her off-court plans for the upcoming week, the teenager said that she was looking forward to relishing the cuisine and donning the archetypal cowboy attire.
"This is my first time in Fort Worth and I'm super excited. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do, but for sure I'll get some good food over here in Texas. Some nice country food and I got some cowboys boots, you know live my inner country that I have a tiny bit [of] in me," she stated.
"It was kind of crazy how it all happened" - Coco Gauff on qualifying for WTA Finals in both singles and doubles
Alongside an incredible 38-19 record in singles this season, Coco Gauff pulled off an astounding rise as the doubles No. 1 thanks to three WTA titles alongside compatriot Jessica Pegula. Besides qualifying for the women's doubles at the WTA Finals, they could also take to the court against each other in the singles.
During the same interview, Gauff explained how she and Pegula went from mere acquaintances to forging a successful partnership.
"It was kind of crazy how it all happened. I've known Jess, she's a fellow American and lives in South Florida, but I never really spoke to her or anything. Just briefly hello and stuff. Then we played more tournaments together and we actually tried to pair up in 2020 in Abu Dhabi and we lost. Then finally, in Dubai we got to the quarters and then Doha, we won," Gauff explained.