"I got super competitive" - Coco Gauff reveals how she is beating her boyfriend at his own reading challenge goal
Coco Gauff has taken on a reading challenge in 2024 -- to read 24 books in 12 months. As it turns out, the American had a different goal in mind before her boyfriend's motivation drove her to beat his own reading goals.
As it stands now, the World No. 2 has finished reading 12 books this year. This includes the likes of Haruki Murakami's 'After Dark,' Taylor Jenkins Reid's 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,' and Viola Davis' 'Finding Me.' Originally, 12 books would have meant Gauff had finished her reading target for the year.
However, the 20-year-old came to know about the goal her boyfriend had set for himself: to read 24 books in 2024. Speaking to reporters at the Berlin WTA 500 tournament, the American revealed that that was when her competitive spirit kicked in, making her realize that she had to double her own goal to match his.
Coco Gauff was glad about how the race has been going since then, as she is two books ahead of her boyfriend at the moment.
"[The reading challenge] started because I loved reading as a kid and I kind of lost it when I got older. So at first my goal was to read 12 books, one per month. Then my boyfriend has this thing where he reads the amount of books as the year we're in, so 24 in 2024, 23 in 2023," Coco Gauff said.
"So when he said he was going to read 24, I got super competitive and I doubled my goal to match his and I like trying to finish faster than him. I'm two books ahead, so I'm winning right now," she added.
"It's just a sacrifice I'm willing to make" - Coco Gauff on her Paris 2024 Olympics participation
During the press interaction, Coco Gauff also spoke about her participation in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. Following Berlin, the American will be in action at Wimbledon before switching surfaces to clay for the Olympics. After that, she will kickstart the North American hardcourt swing, which ends with a title defense at the US Open.
The 20-year-old admitted that the calendar is full, but did not want to miss out on the shot to play in the Olympics, stating that it was a 'sacrifice' that she was willing to make.
"The calendar is full, but it's just a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I know I have a lot to defend in the hard-court season, but there's experiences that you ask yourself if it's worth sacrificing for and for me, this is one of those times that I'm willing to," Coco Gauff said.
Currently, in Berlin, Gauff has reached the quarterfinals, where she is set to take on Ons Jabeur.