"My dad was the only person in the stands really cheering for me" - Coco Gauff reminisces about her dad being her biggest supporter
Rising star of American tennis, Coco Gauff, recently opened up about the support she has received from her father throughout her tennis career.
While appearing in a "24 hours with Coco Gauff" video for Vogue, Gauff spoke about how her dad was the only one to root for her during a match when she was a nine-year-old.
"Yeah. My dad was the only person in the stands really cheering for me," she said.
Check out a day in my life with @voguemagazine ☺️🎥🎾 https://t.co/HbUrZL8mdr
Corey Gauff, Coco's father, also added to the conversation by saying how difficult it was for the young Gauff to focus on her match in the middle of such a ferocious crowd rooting for her rival.
"She was nine at the time, and it's uncommon for people to be cheering and shaking the gate every time the kid missed," he said. "And they clearly preferred the other girl. They wanted her to win over Coco."
He stressed that even such harsh conditions could not subdue him as he was loud enough to make his daughter confident.
"It was just me and her and they were walking around with the trainer but nobody could be louder than me," he said.
Coco Gauff also recalled how her father boosted her confidence with his pep-talk.
" 'You're the greatest of all time,' Coco recounted her father telling her. 'Don't worry about it. The only ones cheering against you are the ones you beat, and the ones you gonna beat'. ''
Coco Gauff credits her practice as the reason for her improved performance on court
The 18-year-old Coco Gauff has had a meteoric rise in the past few months. She has two singles titles under her belt and finished as the runner-up to Iga Swiatek at the French Open this year in her best performance till date at a Slam.
The teen has also tasted huge success in doubles, having won five titles to climb to the pinnacle of the world rankings.
In the same video for Vogue magazine, Gauff underlined that hours of dedicated practice have taken her to where she is now.
"Practice is the reason why I've gotten to this level," she said.
The teenager also gave a brief insight into her daily practice schedule. She admitted to experiencing some bad days but has so far managed to take it all in her stride.
"A lot of practice, a lot of hours, a lot of good days, bad days and all right days. But I guess it's all worth it," she said.
🏼
Coco Gauff practicing under the watchful eye of her dad 🎾🙌🏼🇺🇸 https://t.co/c1Rkf4qRte
Shedding light on her workout routine, Gauff said she puts in the hard yards at the gym six days a week.
"I don't work out every day but I would say almost every day. Pretty much six days out the week," she said.