"Saw my darkest and brightest days of my life" - Coco Gauff on her career-best 2023 season
Coco Gauff's 2023 season has officially come to an end, with the American crashing out of the WTA Finals in both the singles and doubles categories.
In singles, the American reached the semifinals with wins over Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova, but could not outdo compatriot Jessica Pegula in the last four. In doubles, Gauff, partnering Pegula, lost out in the group stage as the top seeds were defeated in all three of their round-robin matches.
Regardless, 2023 has been a milestone year for the teenager. Having started the year with the WTA 250 title in Auckland, Gauff finished the season winning her maiden WTA 500, WTA 1000 and Grand Slam titles. The biggest chunk of her success came in the North American hardcourt swing, as the World No. 3 won the Citi Open, the Cincinnati Open and the US Open in stunning fashion.
Reflecting on her year on social media, Coco Gauff stressed that she saw the darkest as well as the brightest days of her life in 2023. The American was proud of the way she handled them both, and chalked it up to "God's plan" for her.
"2023 is season officially over. hard to sum of this season in a few words. I saw my darkest and brightest days of my life this year. I am proud of myself. God’s plan," Gauff tweeted.
Coco Gauff on dealing with negativity on social media: "It is exhausting"
Following her loss in the group stage to Iga Swiatek at the 2023 WTA Finals, Coco Gauff had gone on a blocking spree on social media, with many fans complaining that they were blocked by the American even though they had not said anything negative towards her.
Guaff addressed those concerns a few days later, stating that she had to deal with harrassment daily, including death threats, racism and body shaming. Not wanting to deal with all those "exhausting" things all the time, the 19-year-old admitted that she blocked people even if they made only a "slightly negative" comment towards her.
"I don’t search for these pages. It comes on my timeline. When you deal with the daily harassment I deal with every single day..death threats, racism, body shaming. etc., it is exhausting. So I try my best to spare myself.
"'She sucked,' 'choke', 'overhype', 'fluke' and these I consider the nice negative comments. Some of you forget I am a person behind the racquet. So yes, even if it is slightly negative, I block. Because my mental state cannot take it every hour of the day," Gauff clarified.
Coco Gauff could have chosen to be part of the Billie Jean King Cup that will be held immediately after the WTA Finals, but she, along with Jessica Pegula, decided to forego participating in the event because of schedule conflicts with the year-end championships.